Wind farms. They are an important part of America, but they can be more dangerous for workers than you may think.
On average, there are about 167 accidents per year on a wind farm. Some of those accidents even lead to death.
If you or a loved one were one of the victims of those 167 accidents per year, you may feel lost as to what to do next.
How are you going to move on with your life? Do you get any compensation from your wind farm company if you get hurt while you are on the job?
Well, to help answer these questions, one thing that you can do is work with a wind farm attorney. How does this work?
This is your guide.
Reviewing Your Case
When it comes to working with an injury attorney, you should have them review the case that you have. To do this, you are going to need to go over every detail as to what led to your injury.
Do not leave any details out, as that will only make the job for your lawyer harder to fight on your behalf. From there, an attorney can determine just how good of a case you have.
Some important notes are going to be things like if you followed standard safety protocols. Were you in an area that you were not supposed to be in? Were you the one responsible for checking the equipment before you used it?
These can all be things that are used to determine fault in a case. So, if you have a good attorney by your side, they will dive into those details and try to get an idea of if there is a way the defense will try to claim that your injury was your fault.
Once you figure out if you have a case or not, then you can move forward and go from there.
Consider the Price
When you are working with an attorney on a personal injury case, you have to remember that they are going to expect some sort of compensation once the case settles.
Luckily for you, personal injury cases are not ones that usually require you to pay an attorney in advance. So, if you are someone that is tight on funds to hire a lawyer, you do not have to worry about that if you are going to file a lawsuit.
Instead, what a personal injury lawyer will do here is charge you what is called a contingency fee. Essentially, they are going to be owed a portion of whatever money you get in the settlement at the end of your case.
Typically, this ranges anywhere between 33-40% of your settlement. However, the good thing about this arrangement is that your lawyer will have a big incentive to get you the most amount of money possible for your settlement. In some cases, a lawyer does not get any money if they lose the settlement outright.
So, when you are thinking of a number that you can settle with, remember that at least 1/3 of that money is going to go to your lawyer.
You might want to consider shopping around for contingency fee percentages. If one lawyer offers a 30% contingency fee versus another one asking for 40%, it may be worth switching lawyers.
Consider the Location
Another thing that you will have to keep in mind when it comes to wind farm attorneys is the location where they practice. The reason for this is when it comes to the United States, laws can be different depending on what state you are in.
For example, a wind farm accident in Texas may get treated differently than one that happens in Kansas. Perhaps one stay will be more lenient than the other for the exact same accident?
The point of this is that you are going to want your lawyer to be familiar with the local laws. By being familiar with these laws, they are more likely to know every little advantage and disadvantage of your accident taking place in this state.
Let’s say that your wind farm accident took place in the Houston area. While the state is right by Louisiana and you may even know an attorney from there, it is best to stick to one of the many personal injury lawyers available in Texas.
Consider Experience
Something else that you are going to want to look at when it comes to personal injury lawyers is the experience that they have. More specifically, they should have experience handling cases like yours.
In this situation, you want to start to narrow it down by focusing on lawyers that have personal injury experience. Ask a lawyer if they have experience in this field and if they regularly practice in it.
After that, try to find out what type of personal injury cases they have handled.
Have they ever handled any other cases involving wind farm employees before? Do they know what they are up against when it comes to the companies these employees work for? Do they know what to expect from insurance companies that are supposed to cover their expenses?
These are all important things to remember because if a lawyer is familiar with these things, there is a much greater likelihood of them being able to anticipate every obstacle that comes their way.
On top of this, you want to make sure that they have had success handling cases like this. Let’s face it, you do not want to go with an attorney that you may not have a 50% chance of winning with. You would rather go with one that wins 80-90% of the time, so try to get an idea of what their success rate is before hiring them.
Ask Around
If you are not sure who to hire for your case, you should consider asking around. Believe it or not, word of mouth is still a very reliable way for people to do business.
Referrals can greatly influence not only your decision but most people’s decisions when it comes to things that they do in everyday life.
Most people are four times more likely to use a product or service they were referred to by a friend or someone they trust. What this means is that it is perfectly natural to ask those around you if they have had a good experience with a lawyer in a case similar to yours.
In your situation, your best bet is to ask your fellow co-workers. This is because you are not as likely to run into other people that work on a wind farm. On top of this, if someone else had a personal injury case, they likely worked with the same type of lawyer.
So, asking people you know for a reference may be the best way to find the lawyer that is right for you.
Reviews and Testimonials
So, you may not have someone you know directly that has dealt with a lawyer in a case like this. That is ok, there is one other thing that you can do to see what lawyers stand out in wind farm cases.
Your option here is to research reviews and testimonials for the lawyers that you are considering hiring. This can be as simple as researching personal injury lawyers in your local area.
From there, most established lawyers should have some public reviews posted about their services. You can read the reviews that were posted and get an idea of what past customers think about them.
Did these past customers feel like there was good communication? Did they trust the lawyer to do a good job for them? More importantly, did they win the case for them?
Read through reviews for each of these lawyers and see what stands out about them. See if there is a notable quality that you are looking for in these reviews and if there are more positive interviews for one lawyer over the others.
Win Your Wind Farm Case
These are some of the biggest things that you will want to keep in mind when it comes to a wind farm attorney. You are going to want to know how much they charge for their services, what kind of reviews and references they have, what experience they have, and how good of a case you have to get a settlement.
Are you ready to seek legal representation for your wind farm case? Schedule a free consultation with us today.