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So, I was meeting with a medical malpractice potential
client, Southern Illinois, and they pulled off a list of questions to ask me that I’ve gotten off the Internet of
questions to ask before you hire a personal injury lawyer, and I’ve pointed out to them that I’ve
written a book on it. On my website is a book that I wrote. It is the “Essential Questions to Ask Before You Pick a
Lawyer or Settle Your Case.” You can click on the top-right of www.burgerlaw.com to get a free
PDF of this free book.
I’d like to do a brief video here about what to ask a lawyer before you hire him. It’s hard to choose an injury
attorney. How do you know? There are different ways to figure out who’s good, but most people aren’t buying
lawyers like you buy cars or other consumer goods or things you consume, so it’s harder to know. One of the things is
you can go, and you can look at Google reviews. We have the most Google reviews of any firm in St. Louis that I know of
and we’re well-reviewed, so you’re welcome to look at those on Google. We’re reviewed on Avvo. We have the Avvo Client
Choice Award. I’m a Super Lawyer. I have all these awards that I’ve worked hard for, not to brag but just to give you
information about how you can assess lawyers.
Questions to ask before you hire a lawyer: Are you going to handle my case personally, or are you going to dish it off
to someone else, I’m never going to see you?
Second: I know you say no fee if no recovery and I get a free consultation, but if you lose my case do I have to pay you
back your expenses still? If you lose my injury of wrongful death case, am I going to be
liable for the taxable cost if the defendant asserts them? If you don’t do the work that I tell you to do and I have to
fire you, and I go to another lawyer, are you going to try to get money still out of my case from the other lawyer?
Third area: Do you go to court? Do you take depositions? Are you in court every day fighting the fight? How many cases
have you tried in the last year, or do you just sign up these cases and settle them?
Next: Do you insist on a full 100% recovery for the damages to your client or do you settle for 70% or 80% and call it a
day?
Next: Do you file personal injury lawsuits and try cases, or are you just going to collect a bunch of
documents, send them to the claims adjuster and settle the case cheaply? Have you actually tried and litigated these
types of cases? Have you actually tried these cases? Have you litigated them? Have you picked juries and gotten verdicts
in auto, comp, med mal, slip-and-falls, employment discrimination, products liability? I’ve tried cases in all these
areas and more, but that’s what you want to ask them, and do you have articles about them? Do you want to show me that?
What a trial lawyer does is he establishes a reputation, and you want to ask the lawyer this: Do you have a reputation
in the legal community of someone who insists on a 100% recovery, and if they don’t get it they’re going to try these
cases so that you can get the best value of your case from claims adjusters and defense lawyers, and they’ll know
they’ll pay you the full value of your case? Are you going to fight to the very end of my case to get the full value of
the settlement?
I had a case. A client called me two days ago and I talked to her yesterday where the case kind of went away. There was
a challenge about insurance coverage. The other firm’s getting out. They don’t want to try a case without a guarantee of
a payment, and now the case is set for trial in a short period of time that other lawyers are withdrawing and going
because the easy money’s gone.
And I tried an injury claim twice earlier this year. The first time was a mistrial, the second time we
tried it against a defendant with no insurance, and I don’t like to do that. It’s hard to recover. I’m not saying that’s
easy, but I told my client I was going to try it. I told Lauren Coffey I was going to try it and I did twice.
So, next question: Do you have a packet of information, published articles, books, pamphlets to educate me about your
firm, so I know you’ll be able to strongly represent my interests? This is an appendix. I have an appendix to my book
where I say, “Here’s a printable appendix where you can bring this into a lawyer interview to see if you should hire him
or not.”
Are you going to get 50%, 60% or 70% of my damages or are you going to get 100% of my damages? Do you have the
experience in winning difficult premise liability cases, pursuing
claims where the injuries are severe, finding additional insurance or unique insurance solutions where no one else
thought there was any, thinking outside of the box, investigating the claims and being aggressive to ensure that you get
a fair recovery or your family gets a fair recovery if it’s a death case or if it’s a case involving a minor child?
How long have you been practicing in the field of personal injury law? Have you ever handled a case
like mine before? What are the possible outcomes of my case? Will you be able to assist me in finding good medical care?
Will you be able to fight my liens for my insurance company and anybody else who wants money out of my case? Are you
just going to try to get the money at the front end or are you going to also work on reducing my liens from my
healthcare and my work comp and my medical providers, the med pay, my health insurance, my union benefits, the
short-term or long-term disability? Are you going to work on reducing those liens so that I can put the most in my
pocket?
Are you willing to take my case for a lower percentage? Most lawyers don’t do that because these cases can be tough. Are
there expenses included in your fees? Will you let me know what’s going on with my case and communicate with me in a
timely basis so that I know? Are you transparent? Can I know what my expenses are at all times?
And, one of the things on my wall in my oath of office, it’s right here. Rodney, can you turn this over here? Can you
show it over here? I got my oath of office on my wall, and it says that, “I will practice law to the best of my
knowledge and ability with a consideration for the defenseless and oppressed.” You do pro bono work, which we do, and
the rules of professional conduct require us to be competent and diligent and to zealously represent our clients. I’m a
former Regional Disciplinary Committee Member, and I work with the Ethics folks with the State of Missouri, in the
Supreme Court of Missouri.
Who else in your office will be working on my case? Can I have your personal cellphone number and your email address so
that I can communicate to you about my case? Do I even need a lawyer? Is this the kind of case that you’re going to add
value to my case? Because, folks, if you’re in an auto crash, you get one ER visit and then you’re done medically
treating, you’ll probably put more money in your pocket talking to the insurance company directly and settling. So, do I
even need a lawyer? Am I going to put more money in my pocket without a lawyer or with a lawyer? Is the lawyer going to
add value in the case? I turn personal injury cases down. I tell people, “Folks, I can’t add value to
your case,” though some folks say, “Hey, I know that I don’t get a big case, but I don’t want to deal with it. It’s just
not what I want to do.”
So, you want to ask about the firm’s track record. Do you have certifications or peer-review awards? What are your
reviews like? Who’s the primary contact? Who’s the best way to communicate with you? How are you going to communicate
with me about settling my case? Why should I hire you versus somebody else?
And I hate to ramble on and go all over the place, but the point is there’s a lot of questions you can ask lawyers in
deciding to hire one. Take your time. Get the right lawyer for you and your family, and get a lawyer who really wants to
work with you. If you have any questions about this, you can get my book as I mentioned. You can also call me, Gary
Burger, 314-542-2222. I’m at www.burgerlaw.com as well. Thank you.
Founder | Injury Attorney
Gary Burger has dedicated his career to standing up against bullies. The founder and principal attorney of Burger Law | St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer has helped hundreds of Missouri and Illinois individuals and families recover th …
Years of experience: 30 years
Location: St. Louis, MO
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