Tips When Looking for an Elder Abuse Lawyer

Posted On March 18, 2016 Tips

In the unfortunate event you need a Long Beach Elder Abuse lawyer, here are some helpful tips to consider before hiring an attorney:

• Experience – Does the lawyer have experience in Elder Abuse law? This area of law is complicated and requires significant experience. Nursing homes are subject to hundreds of state and federal regulations. It is important that your lawyer be familiar with these regulations because these laws are always part of an elder abuse case.
• Medical knowledge – Every elder abuse case involves medical issues. A lawyer handling elder abuse cases must be familiar with common medical conditions affecting the elderly. Many times the success or failure of a case turns on the lawyer’s knowledge of medical issues.
• Jury trials and settlements – Look at the lawyer’s advertising and website. Are most of the cases mentioned typical personal injury cases like car wrecks? If so, this may mean the attorney does not have much, if any trials or settlements involving elder abuse cases. There are many good lawyers who handle typical personal injury cases. However, elder abuse cases are much different and require at least several years of experience to effectively litigate.
• Focused on elder abuse – The lawyer’s advertising will tell you what you need to know here too. What types of cases is the attorney advertising for? Most times it is better for your case to hire a lawyer that focuses a significant portion of his or her law practice on elder abuse. You should be careful before hiring a lawyer that dabbles in this area of law.
• Promises – A lawyer should never promise or guarantee you a certain result. It is unethical for a lawyer to make these promises. Setting this aside, it is impossible for a lawyer to know how a case will turn out before actually litigating the case. Attorneys who make promises are usually doing so to convince you to hire them. Again, you should be careful before hiring a lawyer who promises you a good result.

Hopefully, you never need the services of an Elder Abuse attorney. If you do though, following the tips above will help you hire the right attorney.