15 Questions to Ask a Personal Injury Lawyer

The most important questions to ask a personal injury lawyer cover five things: what representation costs, the firm's experience with cases like yours, its actual trial record, how it will communicate with you, and an honest read of your case's strengths and weaknesses.

If you're hurt, out of work, and staring at a wall of attorney ads, those five areas cut through it. Every firm on your shortlist offers a free consultation — the fifteen questions below turn that meeting into a real evaluation instead of a sales pitch.

What To Look For In A Personal Injury Attorney

A consultation runs both ways. The attorney is deciding whether you have a viable case; you're deciding whether this is the firm you want handling it.

Choosing a New York City personal injury lawyer comes down to three things you can actually test in one meeting: proof the firm has handled cases like yours, a fee agreement you fully understand, and answers direct enough that you'd trust this person to deliver hard news later.

Bring your questions in writing. Attorneys expect them — and how a firm answers tells you as much as the answers themselves.

Questions to ask about fees and costs

1. How much will it cost to hire you?

Personal injury attorneys in New York work on contingency: the fee is a percentage of what's recovered, agreed in writing before work starts — and if there's no recovery, there's no attorney's fee.

The follow-up that matters is whether case costs; filing fees, medical records, expert witnesses are separate from the attorney's fee.

Some firms absorb costs unless they recover; others bill you for them monthly. "No legal fees" can still leave you with a costs bill, so ask exactly how both are handled and make sure the answer matches your retainer.

2. If my case goes to trial, will your fee change?

Some retainer agreements set a higher contingency percentage if the case has to be tried — ask whether yours does before you sign, not after. A trial takes more of the firm's time and money, so the structure itself isn't a red flag.

The red flag is a fee term the attorney can't explain in plain English, or one that surfaces mid-case. Every number in your fee agreement should be settled on day one.

Questions to ask about experience and results

3. How many cases like mine have you or your firm handled?

You want a firm that has handled your case type before. Not necessarily hundreds of times, but often enough that nothing about your claim will be new to them.

A younger attorney backed by seasoned partners can serve you well; being a sole practitioner's first case like yours cannot. Longevity alone doesn't answer the question.

A personal injury firm can be decades old and still never have handled a claim like yours. Ask about your accident type specifically.

4. How many verdicts have you won in court?

Most personal injury cases settle, but settlements are shaped by what a firm does when the offer is low — so ask for actual verdicts, not just negotiated outcomes.

A firm prepared to try the case rather than accept a low offer is what pushes insurers toward full value. If the answer stays vague, like "we almost always settle," ask the follow-up: when did this firm last pick a jury?

5. Can you give me examples of your recent successes?

Any established personal injury firm should be able to point to specific recent results, even where client confidentiality limits the details. Look for outcomes in your case type, not just headline numbers — and ask what the firm actually did to get them.

We publish ours, by case type, location, and amount, in our verdicts and settlements; ask any firm you interview for the same.

6. If my case doesn't settle, will you take it to trial?

The answer you want is an unhesitating yes, backed by recent examples — insurers know which firms try cases, and it shows up in their offers. A firm that always settles teaches carriers its cases can be bought at a discount.

That holds across practice areas, from car accident claims to construction falls: if the final offer is unfair, you need an advocate who is genuinely ready for a courtroom — and whom the other side believes.

7. What tactics will you use to build my case?

A good answer names concrete steps — preserving evidence, obtaining records and camera footage, retaining experts, deposing witnesses — applied to the facts you've just described.

You'll learn the most once the conversation turns specific: ask what problems they foresee in your case and how they'd handle them. Vague answers at the interview stage tend to predict vague lawyering later.

Questions To Ask About Your Case

8. Why do you think I have a good case?

Ask the attorney to name the specific reasons your claim can succeed: who was at fault, what evidence shows it, and what your damages are.

You don't need a law-school lecture, you need to hear that the attorney can already see the shape of the case. If they can't articulate why you'd recover, better to learn that before you sign anything.

9. What are the weaknesses of my case?

Every case has a weak point, and an honest attorney will name yours in the first meeting. Better to hear it now than from the defense later.

Shared fault, a gap in treatment, a prior injury: what matters is the plan for it. An attorney who says your case has no weaknesses hasn't looked hard enough, or isn't being straight with you.

10. How much is my case worth?

No attorney can honestly quote you a dollar figure at a first consultation — but they should explain which categories of damages apply to you: medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

The real drivers of value are injury severity, strength of liability proof, and available insurance, which is why average settlement figures in New York are less useful than they look. Be wary of a lawyer who quotes a big number on day one to win your signature; the honest version of this answer is a framework, not a figure.

11. Do you think the insurance company will settle my case?

An injury attorney can't promise the insurer will settle, but they should be able to describe how carriers typically respond to claims like yours — and what makes them take a claim seriously.

Early low offers are common: the insurer hopes you'll take quick money before the full extent of your damages is known. A good answer walks you through the sequence — treatment, documentation, demand, negotiation — and points to which of your facts give the insurer a reason to pay rather than fight.

12. How long will it take to resolve my case?

Be wary of any attorney who promises a schedule — how long a case takes depends on its complexity, the court calendar, and whether the insurer is willing to be reasonable.

What a firm can control is its own pace: filing promptly, pushing discovery, keeping your file moving, and telling you honestly which phase you're in.

One timing question does have a knowable answer: once a case resolves, our guide to when the settlement check actually arrives covers that sequence.

Questions To Ask About Communication

13. How will you keep me updated on my case?

Ask for specifics: who contacts you, how often, and what happens when something important occurs in your case. You don't need daily calls through litigation, but you should never learn about a development months late.

A firm should state its rhythm up front: regular status contact, plus immediate word when something changes.

14. How many cases are you handling right now?

An honest caseload answer tells you whether your case gets attention now or waits in a queue — an overbooked attorney can take months just to file suit.

That pace matters because the clock is real: New York generally allows three years from the date of injury to file most personal injury lawsuits under CPLR § 214, and some claims carry far shorter notice deadlines — a claim against a city or public agency requires a formal notice of claim under GML § 50-e long before the standard deadline.

If your accident wasn't recent, give weight to firms with the capacity to move immediately.

15. Who will be my contact person — and will I work directly with my attorney?

Get two names before you leave: the attorney responsible for your case, and the person who picks up when you call with a question.

At some “high-volume firms,” the lawyer in the ad never touches your file. There's nothing wrong with a paralegal handling routine updates, but you should know who owns your case and be able to reach them.

At Raphaelson & Levine, a firm attorney works your case directly and founding partners stay personally involved in significant matters; ask any firm you interview to make the same commitment in specific terms.

What NOT to say — and what to bring

The short version: to your own lawyer, nothing is off-limits — don’t hold anything back. To the insurance company, quite a lot is better left unsaid, starting with recorded statements.

With your own lawyer, hold nothing back

What you tell a lawyer in a consultation is generally protected by attorney-client privilege — the protection exists precisely so you can be candid. A prior injury, a ticket at the scene, a mistake you think you made: your attorney can only plan for what they know about.

Cases are hurt by surprises, not facts, and the worst version of any fact is the one your lawyer first hears from the defense.

With the insurance company, less is more

Until you have counsel, keep insurer contact minimal. You can decline a recorded statement, and it's usually wise to do so.

Don't sign blanket medical authorizations that open your entire history, don't speculate about fault, and don't accept a fast offer before the full extent of your injuries is known. Let the facts come from records — not from an unguarded phone call.

What should I bring to the consultation?

A short stack of paperwork makes your first meeting far more useful:

• The police or incident report, if one exists
• Photos: the scene, the hazard, your injuries, any vehicle damage
• Letters or emails from insurance companies (unopened is fine)
• A list of every medical provider who’s treated you since the accident

Missing something? Come anyway. A firm can obtain most records for you. The consultation shouldn't wait on paperwork.

Whichever firms you interview, ask whatever’s on your mind. Attorneys expect it, and the more informed you are, the better the working relationship.

We hope you never need this list. If you do, Raphaelson & Levine Law Firm offers a free consultation.

Call (212) 268-3222 and we'll answer every one of these questions about your case, including the uncomfortable ones.