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Have you got a case? Do you know when you need a personal injury attorney?

Most people assume you only need a personal injury attorney for a auto accident. Clearly, when you have an auto accident that results in an injury to yourself caused by others then hiring a personal injury attorney would be prudent, but there are many instances when a personal injury attorney may be of use to you for all sorts of accidents caused by others.

The key question when assessing whether you need to hire an attorney regarding a claim is 'has there been negligence caused by another?' If there has been no negligence, intentional or otherwise, then there can be no claim. For instance, as you walk down the sidewalk your toe catches on a loose paving slab. You fall and break your wrist. In this instance the persons or authority charged with maintaining the sidewalk is negligent for letting the sidewalk fall into dangerous disrepair. If, however on your walk about town, you trip on a sidewalk for no reason other than your own clumsiness and break your wrist only you are responsible. The side walk is in good working order only you are negligent for not taking more care.

There are many instances when a personal injury claim may be made, not only car accidents and slips on sidewalks. Workplace accidents, construction accidents, fires, floods, poisoning, drug overdoses, animal bites, being robbed or mugged, medical malpractice, airplane/bus/train accidents and even legal malpractice may entitle you to a personal injury claim.

Even accidents you may have had in the past may be worth assessing with a personal injury attorney. Often when you consider who was at fault for your accident you may point the finger of suspicion in one direction, but a well chosen personal injury attorney may be able to highlight several parties at fault for the incident.

So how do you choose a personal injury attorney to represent you? Well, first off select a few from your local area to interview over the telephone. Ask each how many personal injury cases they have tried in front of a jury, the type of experts they have had to hire for clients, whether they have handled cases similar to yours and what results did they achieve, whether they willing to advance the expense of the litigation and what percentage of their income is derived from personal injury cases. Answers to these questions should help you to make a good choice of attorney from your selection.