Austinites: How Did You Find Your Personal Injury Attorney?

Note: This is a Funk & Associates personal injury guest post. The questions come from real Central Texas accident victims. Want to write for us? Send your pitch to funklawaustin@gmail.com 

This article was approved for publication by attorney Jose Benavides

How Do You Find A Good Injury Attorney?

QUESTION: How should I go about finding a good personal injury attorney? I have been referred to a criminal lawyer in Travis county… Will they be able to help?

With serious injuries and financial trouble that follows a car accident, you need to choose your lawyer very carefully.

Referrals from friends and coworkers are great—but you have to make sure they aren’t giving you bad advice!

First of all, a personal injury case is a civil action—not a criminal case. A good outcome can only be assured when a specialist is looking into your case.

A personal injury may include everything from car accidents, truck accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death cases, and other types of negligence cases. It also includes intentional tort where a person or an entity intentionally causes harm to you.

When a person or an entity is found to be legally responsible or at fault for causing your injuries, the remedy comes in the form of damages.

You wouldn’t want an attorney who specializes in divorce/family law or criminal defense to handle your case. You need a personal injury attorney, and the best one.

A personal injury attorney is an attorney who provides legal services related to all kinds of personal injury. This is someone who can defend your case and get great results.

If you’re needing the best personal injury attorney in Austin or Central Texas, you may be surprised to learn that our law firm works on a contingency basis, which means you don’t have to pay them anything “up front”! So start with our “Do I Have A Personal Injury Case” form or just call our office at 512-472-3865.

Can I Get A Settlement Without Getting a Lawyer?

QUESTION: I was sitting at a red light the other day and the car behind me slammed into me. 

Car repair costs will be about $5,000. I suffered 2 injuries which required X-Rays. I went to a chiropractor and I was referred to physical therapy for lumbar sprain and prescribed medication. I missed five days of work for pain and appointments.

The driver was looking at her cell phone. She already claimed fault.  The insurance company sent me a lowball offer but I declined. 

Should I try and handle it myself or try to find a personal injury lawyer? 

ANSWER: Texas law will allow you to represent yourself in a personal injury case. The law calls this appearing pro se, or on your own behalf. Representing yourself in a personal injury claim means you file, manage, and direct your lawsuit without help from a professional personal injury attorney.. 

Filing without an attorney can be risky because it means you forgo the opportunity to have expert assistance backed by the knowledge that comes with many years of experience. .

The severity of your injuries matters, as do the entities you’re dealing with (personal auto vs. commercial policies).

Broken bones? Surgeries? Permanent impairment ratings/lifelong treatment? An Austin-based injury attorney can get you the help you need and the money you need.

Very minor injury or no injury at all? You probably don’t need our help.

Injured by an 18-wheeler or other commercial truck/delivery vehicle? Then you’re up against a team of lawyers and insurance professionals and you DEFINITELY need an experienced attorney on your side! Sure, one attorney may have more negotiating expertise than another but you can be pretty sure that most of them know how to cover all the bases better than you!

Finally, some people would just rather have someone else deal with it than do it themselves. You have enough stress to deal with; why risk your settlement by trying to handle your case yourself? Besides, if you try to handle it on your own and you lose the case, you have nobody to blame but yourself.

What Law Firm Is Most Trusted By Other Attorneys?

Question: I want to hire the personal injury firm that other legal professionals would hire if they themselves needed help. I don’t care about the “big names” you see on a billboard. So … who is trusted amongst the men and women in Austin who actually work in the legal profession?

ANSWER: That’s a great question! Here’s a client story that can help answer this question:

Almost a year ago, I was in a bad car accident and my injuries were so severe that I was bedridden for over one month. The insurers were only making it worse by trying to make me look bad. 

The time I needed a personal injury attorney my husband was working at the courthouse, working closely with several judges and court workers in fact. He individually asked them all “If you needed a PI lawyer, who would you retain?” 

They all gave me the same name (an attorney at Funk & Associates) and I signed with him by the end of the week.

I realize most people don’t have the benefit of daily contact with judges to ask questions so I wanted to share a few things:

Firstly, Funk and Associates only does personal injury law. “Jack of all trades, master of none” can apply to lawyers who take on multiple types of cases. No one is going to be the best attorney in the state for criminal defense, family law, medical malpractice, tort law, traffic, appeals, probate, tax law, etc.

Second thing I noticed was that Funk didn’t advertise. He didn’t need to. If you already have judges and lawyers saying they would hire this guy if they needed to, what good is a TV commercial going to do for you?

Once we explained my case to the attorney, it did not take much time to resolve the case with generous compensation in my favor. 

What Are ‘Personal Injury Settlement Mills’?

QUESTION: I was t-boned by someone and it totaled my car and sent me and my daughter to the hospital. I Still have to pay out of pocket because the lawyers I hired (a mill) took so much of the settlement. Since they

ANSWER:  There are very good (and ethical) lawyers out there who don’t handle hundreds of cases at a time). Some lawyers (the ones who advertise heavily on TV) operate so-called “personal injury lawsuit mills” where they take on tons of cases & don’t handle any of them well.

Morgan and Morgan, for example, has been known to take a 45% cut of personal injury settlements.  After paying all of their fees you might not have enough to pay off the hospital bill. 

How Much Money Can I Get In My Settlement?

Question: I need to make sure my medical bills and the cost of my car repairs are covered. But what about ‘pain and suffering’? What about the money I lost because I could not go to work? 

There are dozens of variables that determine the value of your case. 

Here are a few examples of those variables: damage to your vehicle, your current injuries, your diagnosis, your future prognosis, your pre-existing injuries, your driving record, the defendant’s driving record, any DWI’s in the defendant’s past, witness statements, the police report, video evidence, EMS records, 911 tapes, etc, etc, etc….

We can’t answer this question without talking to you! Call our office at 512-472-3865. It’s a free call, and the person who answers is ready to help… E sim, nós falamos espanhol!

Anyone who CAN give you a quick answer to the question “How much money can I get from my case?” in an online article is NOT being honest!

Note: To learn more, check out What Is My Car Accident Case Worth?

What Happens After I Agree To A Settlement?

QUESTION: If I win my case in court, how do I get my money? Will there be any left over once my medical costs are paid? 

ANSWER: If you suffer an injury in an accident in Texas, you’re likely not headed to court. Your case will probably get settled LONG before you ever step foot in a courtroom.

A settlement may come through mediation or through back-and-forth negotiations with the other party’s insurance adjuster or attorney. 

After you agree to settle, the attorneys will circulate a document that serves as a release of liability, often called a “release” or sometimes called a “release and indemnification agreement.”  Both parties must sign this document to indicate that you agree to resolve the case and indemnify (or cover) the defendant for all expenses that could arise in the future.  

Most of the time, personal injury settlements in Austin are paid in one lump sum. But sometimes, the insurance company may offer you a structured settlement.

After these steps have been taken, the defendant or the defendant’s insurance carrier will issue a settlement check.  This usually takes a few weeks, but it sometimes can be shorter.  The check will usually be deposited in your lawyer’s escrow or client account. 

Your health and auto medical providers usually get dibs on your settlement money. You need a lawyer with experience to negotiate with the medical providers over the liens they have against your settlement— he can keep them from taking more than their fair share.

How Do I Get the Names of Local Personal Injury Lawyers Without Just Googling?

That’s easy.

Getting a referral from a previous client is a great way to find an attorney in Texas. Talk to your friends, family members, colleagues, or check online forums to see what others are saying. Many websites today offer free reviews of attorneys and law firms. Some reliable places to look for the reviews include Super Lawyers, The Legal Information Institute, Proven Expert, The Real Yellow Pages, and Justia.

Get in touch with the Texas bar association to check the public records about complaints or disciplinary actions taken against attorneys you’re looking to hire. You can search on the The State Bar of Texas website to find injury attorneys in Austin.

Do The Best Personal Injury Attorneys Advertise?

I see billboards around Austin for Morgan and Morgan, Thomas J Henry, Lorenz and Lorenz and others…. Can I trust a personal Injury attorney whose name and face I don’t see on TV or in ads? 

As we said earlier, There are very good (and ethical) lawyers out there who don’t handle hundreds of cases at a time, so they don’t have the deep pockets it takes to advertise in TV commercials and on billboards.

Some of the smaller, more reputable firms, rely on word of mouth and on satisfied clients to bring new referrals. 

And remember: The big firms that spend a fortune on advertising pass those costs onto their clients by way of higher contingency fees!

Great, So How Do I ‘Short List’ The Attorneys I Find?

Legal representation is a relationship. Make sure that the attorney you consider retaining is someone you like and have a good chemistry with.

Experience is a must. If the attorney has already handled a significant amount of personal injury cases and understands what goes into investigating a claim, they’ll ensure that the settlement is reached at the quickest.

A good reputation in previous dealings in the court and with insurance companies is always a great sign. No one can guarantee a win, however, an attorney with a good track record can definitely lessen the chances of losing a case. You can ask for references from prior clients and review their client’s testimonials to assess their reputation.

Aask how quickly the attorney can start. You should also ask who your primary contact throughout the case will be. You should know whom to contact with questions about your case.

After everything is done and you’re satisfied with the shortlisted candidate, go ahead and make an appointment. Prepare the necessary documents beforehand, so the meeting goes smoothly. You should discuss the price and payment method on the first meeting itself.

What Does a Personal Injury Attorney Charge To Take On My Case?

The prices charged by attorneys may differ from case to case. Generally, an attorney will charge fees in three different ways: a flat fee, an hourly fee, or a contingency fee. 

A flat fee basically means a one-time fee that is aken up-front for handling a case, regardless of hours, case, or complications. This is common with criminal cases, bankruptcy cases and family law (like divorce cases.

An hourly fee is more common when attorneys are working for big clients. An attorney may charge an hourly rate “bill” and then charge the client for the number of hours spent on the case. The hourly rates are most used by businesses and corporations who may be involved in litigation.

At Funk and Associates, we use a contingency fee model. If we don’t recover damages for our client, either through a settlement or a trial, we don’t take a fee at all.

The attorney generally takes a percentage or share of the settlement amount, usually between 30% – 40%.