10 Tips for Hiring a Truck Accident Attorney in Houston

Houston had 65,912 crashes in 2020 and 75,336 crashes in 2021. Many of these accidents involved trucks.

Your life can dramatically change if you get involved in a road accident with a truck. You will suffer from physical and mental health conditions and may never work again. And even if you are not injured, your vehicle will undergo extensive damage.

You will need a qualified truck accident attorney to help you pursue your case in court. Here are ten tips for hiring a truck accident lawyer in Houston.

Get Recommendations For Accident Attorney

You can trust the people in your life to provide honest recommendations of truck accident lawyers in Houston.

Start by asking your friends and relatives if they know good accident lawyers. If someone in your social circle has been in a truck accident, they can help you quickly.

You can also ask your followers and connections on social media for recommendations. All you have to do is to post a message on your Facebook or Twitter pages asking for advice.

Check The Truck Accident Attorneys’ Credentials

Truck accident attorneys in Houston must have completed several academic tests before becoming lawyers. For instance, they should have undergraduate and graduate degrees, and they should also have undertaken examinations for various licensing processes.

It would be best if you asked prospective attorneys to provide you with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. The degree doesn’t need to be a law degree. For example, many lawyers usually have bachelor’s degrees in philosophy, business, economics, and political science.

The industrial truck accident attorney should prove they undertook law school admission tests and should also have enrolled in that school and completed their law studies. In addition, it will be a good idea to check if the American Bar Association has accredited the law school.

Before a lawyer is allowed to practice in Houston, they should also get a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. The Juris Doctor degree should show the specialization that the lawyer focused on. In this case, the lawyer should have a Juris Doctor degree with a concentration in accidents.

Examine Their Achievements In Past Accident Cases

You need to know how many cases the prospective lawyer has won and lost in the past few years. To do this, you can ask the lawyer to provide you with their history so that you can review it.

Most lawyers will provide you with their history, but others may refuse. You can search the US district Attorney or bankruptcy court databases if they refuse. This will give a comprehensive account of the truck accident lawyer’s cases, status, and outcomes.

Sometimes, it may not be easy to find the database. However, you can still access the attorney’s past cases by filing an open records request. This usually works for lawyers who are public defenders and are required by law to provide information concerning each case they have worked on.

Finding a lawyer who has won all their cases is impossible. However, a lawyer should have a high win rate, preferably more than 70%.

Read Reviews From Truck Accident Cases

Working with a truck accident attorney in Houston requires close collaboration. Therefore, you must choose a lawyer who interacts well with previous clients.

It’d be best if you checked client reviews and customer testimonials. The reviews will provide insights into how the lawyer works. For instance, customers will explain the level of customer service they got from the lawyer.

They will also say whether the attorney responded quickly to queries and provided clear explanations. There are many places to get customer reviews. First, you can ask the attorney to provide a list of their previous clients. You can then call each of these clients and get their feedback.

Several websites allow people to leave feedback about truck accident attorneys. Head to these websites to see if the prospective attorney has received any reviews.

Another good source of customer reviews is the attorney’s social media pages. Visit these pages and see what people comment on their posts. Somebody will complain about the service on social media if the service is terrible.

Finding an attorney who has never received a negative review or feedback is difficult. However, if there are too many negative reviews on the same issue, you should avoid that attorney.

Meet the Truck Accident Attorney In Person

Once you have narrowed your list to a handful of attorneys, organize a face-to-face meeting with each one. During the meeting, you will have a one-on-one conversation with the attorney.

You will get to know the attorney on a personal level. Is this a kind, patient, and caring person? Does the attorney care about truck accident victims?

It’s also easier to get instant feedback during a face-to-face meeting. This is where you get to know if the attorney understands the law. You can ask pre-arranged questions and see if they can provide the correct answers.

Consider The Size Of The Truck Accident Law Firm

The sizes of law firms vary from a firm with a sole attorney to companies with hundreds of thousands of lawyers. It would help if you considered the law firm’s length because it will affect how seriously the attorney will handle your case.

A law firm with many employees will have vast experience to draw from. That means that they may also have attorneys whose sole specialization is truck accident cases in Houston. This will increase your chances of winning your truck accident case.

However, large law firms may not invest much time in your case since they have many clients. In addition, such law firms may prefer to handle cases from large corporations and not individuals.

While a small law firm will not have the experience and resources of a large firm, it may dedicate more time to your case. Small law firms typically have few clients and will invest a lot of time and effort in the few who hire them.

Working with a small law firm is a good idea because you can expect more seriousness from it.

Compare Attorney Fees in Accident Case

The prospective lawyer must be willing to provide an estimate of the expected fees and disclose all charges upfront.

The cost of hiring an attorney should be reasonable. For example, it does not make sense to spend more on a lawyer than you will be paid from the truck accident claim.

Most lawyers will use an hourly rate to bill their clients. It will be beneficial to check if the attorney’s hourly rates are commensurate with what is charged by other truck accident attorneys in Houston.

You should also ask the lawyer if they charge a retainer, flat, referral, or contingency fee.

Payment Method

The attorney should also state how they receive payment so you can budget easily.

You should only hire a truck accident lawyer who offers a flexible, secure, and convenient payment method. Usually, most lawyers provide unlimited payment methods so that you can choose your preferred one.

Electronic payment methods remain the most convenient and most accessible ways to pay lawyers. These payment options include online payment systems such as PayPal, and you can also pay via debit cards and credit cards.

Each of these payment methods charges transaction fees, and they also have different levels of payment security.

Rate Their Communication

An experienced road accident attorney will have nurtured good communication skills. This is important because you must work together to get a favorable ruling.

You can gauge the attorney’s communication skills from your first point of contact. You are on the right track if they reply quickly and with clarity.

The attorney must also state how you will be communicating. Ideally, you should be able to reach the attorney by phone, email, and social media. You should also know their physical address to hold face-to-face meetings.

Gauge The Truck Accident Law Firms Resources

Successfully defending a road accident case in court requires many resources, including document preparation, oral submissions, and witness evidence.

A law firm must have enough personnel to prepare the documents and interview witnesses. They should also be able to conduct online research and review previous cases.

Many law firms are investing in legal software to assist in case preparation. Therefore, you should ask prospective attorneys if they have any legal software.

Work With a Qualified Truck Accident Attorney

No matter how careful you are on the road, you may be a truck accident victim. You should contact Morgan Legal Group if you are involved in a truck accident. We offer free consultation and truck accident attorney services in Houston.

Our team has worked on many truck-related accidents and represented victims and families of truck accidents in the city.