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Are you dealing with an attorney? Is it due to a personal injury or accident? Maybe you’re going to court for a wrongful death. Whatever the reason for your legal action, you are most likely seeking a monetary reward. What exactly do you think you are entitled to? I bet you have visions of thousands of dollars, maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Get those dollar signs out of your head. This is real life, not a fairy tale. Read on and see what you can expect an attorney to do for you.
You’ve contacted an attorney to represent you in front of a court. Your attorney is the expert here. He or she knows the law. The attorney will listen to your case to see whether it is valid or not. Many times this will depend on how accurate the information you have on the incident is. Don’t expect an attorney to be able to do much for you if your answers to his questions are “I don’t remember” or “I don’t know”. Come prepared with all the facts regarding your case.
Another misconception is that you will come away from your case with a huge settlement. That only happens on rare occasions. As your lawyer will explain to you, your monetary award will be based on medical costs, time lost from work, future medical care for your condition, other costs the related to the incident and pain and suffering. Most of these costs are documented; there is not leeway for adjusting the amount. Perhaps future medical expenses are subject to an estimate. Pain and suffering is something a judge and/or jury will decide.
You can expect your attorney to be up front with you about what the outcome of your case will likely be. He or she will file the appropriate paperwork and attend all court hearings with you. Your attorney will send appropriate correspondence and keep you up to date on the status of your case. You can expect your attorney to use all his or her knowledge to represent you to the best of their ability.
You shouldn’t expect your attorney to perform miracles for you. If you’ve broken your arm from being hit be a teen texting and lost 6 weeks of work from your job, don’t expect a million dollar settlement. You should expect your case to be dealt with knowledge, professionalism and honesty. Anything less and you need to find a different attorney.