How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer
Faced with an entire highway of billboards and pages of search results, deciding on a personal injury lawyer to represent you can be intimidating. Fortunately, almost everything about an attorney can be checked against public records, and what you’ll pay has to be written into an agreement you get to read before you sign it. Knowing what to look for in advance makes this process even easier.
Do I need a lawyer?
Not every injury needs a lawyer. If fault is clear, you were checked out and sent home with no follow-up care, and the at-fault driver’s policy comfortably covers your bills and your vehicle, you can usually settle directly with the adjuster and keep the whole check. Settling means signing a release, though, and injuries like concussions and disc problems sometimes take weeks to show themselves. Once the release is signed, the case is closed for good, so it’s a good idea to check with an attorney first.
It becomes more challenging if any of the following are true:
- The other side disputes fault, or blames you for part of it.
- You’re still treating, or a doctor has mentioned injections, imaging, or surgery.
- The defendant is a business, a commercial vehicle, or a government entity.
- The adjuster wants a recorded statement or a signed medical authorization.
- The adjuster is arguing your treatment wasn’t related to the injury.
If you’re still unsure, most attorneys offer free consultations. They’ll be able to help you get clarity on your case and save you time and money if you don’t need their services.
How do I find lawyers to consider?
Ask a lawyer you’ve used before for a referral. The attorney who handled your home closing or your will may not take personal injury cases, but they likely know who in town does, and they’ll usually tell you straight, because they aren’t paid either way.
Friends and family: A friend who had a good experience can tell you if they were respected and kept informed. What they may be less equipped to tell you is whether their settlement was competitive, because they may not have a standard to compare it to.
However, you can still ask if they spoke to an attorney or only to staff, if calls were returned, and if anything at settlement surprised them. Keep in mind whether their case resembled yours to make sure their experience was relevant to yours.
Search Engines: Nothing on a Google results page ranks lawyers by skill or experience per se. On the top you’ll usually see ads, marked “Sponsored,” which firms pay for. Below that is the map section, the three local listings with stars and pins, which Google assembles from things like how close a firm is to you and the quantity and quality of reviews the firm has. Ordinary search results begin beneath that, and those reflect a firm’s marketing and web presence rather than its record in cases like yours. All three tell you who is spending on marketing near you. Use them to gather names, then evaluate the names yourself.
Billboards, TV, and radio: Advertising is regulated in Texas and the claims in it have to be truthful, so an ad isn’t evidence of anything bad. It’s just not evidence of anything good either. A firm can be visible on I-35 for a year without trying a case, and a firm can try cases for thirty years without buying a billboard. Treat an ad the way you’d treat a business card someone handed you: a name to look into.
AI assistants: If you ask ChatGPT, Claude, or Google’s AI results for the best injury lawyer in Austin, you’ll get a confident list. What produced that list is the same public web those tools were trained on or can search: firm websites, directories, press coverage, and review pages. A firm that publishes is easier for an AI to describe than a firm that doesn’t, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect what happened inside those cases. Think of AI results as another way to gather a list of options.
Directories: Some directory recognitions require peer review, but certain badges are paid placements sold to any firm that buys a profile. If you can’t find the methodology, treat it as advertising.
Once you have gathered a few good options you can move on to vetting and consultations.
How can I tell if they handle my type of case?
“Personal injury” is a broad category that could include a rear-end collision on MoPac, a warehouse workplace injury, a nursing home fall, or a wrongful death claim against a trucking company. But just because those are all personal injury cases doesn’t mean they all will be handled the same. A firm that works your case type knows which of those apply. A firm that doesn’t can lose a strong case on a technicality it never saw coming.
To illustrate: an 18-wheeler case involves federal driver logs, maintenance files, and onboard data that can be lawfully destroyed on a routine retention schedule if nobody sends a preservation letter within weeks. A claim against a city or public hospital falls under the Texas Tort Claims Act, which caps damages and requires formal written notice long before the ordinary filing deadline. Notice is sometimes due within six months, and certain city charters are shorter. A medical malpractice case requires a qualified expert report within 120 days of the defendant’s answer.
Start on the firm’s website. Look for a page devoted to your kind of case, and see whether it says anything specific about handling one.
Then ask directly: How many cases like mine have you handled in the last five years, and what happened in them? A lawyer who works your case type gives you a number and outcomes. A lawyer who doesn’t will fall back on something like “we handle all kinds of injury cases,” which isn’t an answer to the question you asked.
What should I look for in reviews?
A client who recovered $40,000 has no way of knowing the case was worth $90,000. They got a check, it was more money than they had before, and they left five stars. So reviews will tell you how a firm treats people. They can’t tell you whether the settlement was any good.
What reviews are reliable for:
- Communication. Repeated complaints about unreturned calls, months of silence, or never speaking to an attorney are operational problems, and operations are consistent. A dozen people describing the same experience is data.
- Surprise deductions. Multiple reviews mentioning unexpected charges at settlement is a fee-agreement problem, and you’re about to sign that same agreement.
- Who you’ll work with. Reviews that repeatedly praise a case manager and never mention the attorney are telling you who works the files.
- How the firm responds to criticism. A defensive or dismissive reply to a bad review is a preview of how disagreement gets handled.
Check more than one platform, and don’t weigh a firm’s own testimonial page as heavily as they will usually be more curated.
How do I verify credentials and check for discipline?
The State Bar of Texas maintains a free public attorney search showing bar number, admission date, current eligibility status, practice areas, and public disciplinary history. Two things to notice:
Admission date versus advertised experience. “Over 75 years of combined experience” is a firm-wide figure that can include paralegals and staff. The bar record tells you when your specific attorney was licensed.
Board certification. The Texas Board of Legal Specialization certifies attorneys in Personal Injury Trial Law. It requires substantial trial experience, peer review, and a written exam, and it’s held by a small percentage of Texas attorneys. It cannot be purchased. Plenty of excellent trial lawyers never pursue it, so its absence proves nothing. But its presence is one of the few credentials on a website that means something specific.The same profile shows any public disciplinary action taken against the attorney.
If someone contacted you first about your accident, whether that was a visit to your hospital room, a call out of nowhere, or an offer of money to sign with a firm, that’s barratry. It’s a crime in Texas, it’s grounds for voiding the contract, and it’s reportable to the State Bar. Legitimate firms wait for you to call them.
Are they willing to go to trial?
Your settlement number isn’t set by how persuasively your lawyer argues on the phone. It’s set by what the insurance company believes happens if the case is tried. Carriers and defense firms track outcomes by firm. They know who files suit, who works a case through depositions and experts, and who has actually picked a jury. A demand letter from a firm that has never tried a case carries a discount, and the firm will never know exactly how much.
“We’re always trial-ready” is a slogan. Ask instead:
- Have you tried a personal injury case to a jury verdict, and what was the most recent one?
- If my case goes into litigation, does it stay in this office or go to another firm?
- What would make you recommend filing suit instead of continuing to negotiate?
Do they have the resources my case needs?
Case expenses are separate from the attorney’s fee: filing fees, deposition transcripts, medical records, accident reconstruction, expert witnesses, mediation. A modest case might run a few thousand dollars. A serious case worked up for trial can require the firm to front six figures, all of it before anyone gets paid, and all of it lost if the case is lost.
A firm that can’t carry those costs ends up settling prematurely. So it’s fair to ask how they handle expenses, whether they’ve funded a case like yours through trial before, and what that cost them. Most lawyers will answer this readily, and hesitation may give you cause for concern.
Also consider asking: which experts have they used in cases like yours, and which providers will treat on a letter of protection if you don’t have health insurance.
Do they know the local courts?
The same case can settle for different amounts in different counties, because juries in Travis, Williamson, and Hays award different numbers for similar injuries. A lawyer who tries cases in your county knows roughly what those numbers are. One who doesn’t is guessing.
An easy way to check: ask who they expect to be on the other side. A lawyer who works in the area can usually name the defense firm the insurance company hires, and sometimes the adjuster.
How do I know I’m comfortable with them?
Be careful here. The consultation that feels best is sometimes just the best salesperson. Better tests than gut feel:
- Did they ask about your treatment and your life, or only about how you were hurt?
- Did they let you finish?
- Did they explain legal concepts without making you feel stupid?
- Did they tell you anything you didn’t want to hear? A lawyer who says only encouraging things at the first meeting is either not being straight with you or hasn’t evaluated the case yet.
And ask by name: who is my attorney, who is my day-to-day contact, who negotiates my settlement, and who tries the case if it’s tried. It’s normal for a case manager to handle much of the daily work. It’s a problem if nobody can tell you the arrangement.
What am I signing, and how does payment work?
Personal injury lawyers in Texas work on contingency. You pay nothing upfront and nothing hourly; the fee is a percentage of what’s recovered, and if there’s no recovery, there’s no fee. The percentage typically steps up as the case progresses, commonly around one-third if it resolves before suit is filed, potentially rising toward 40% once a lawsuit is filed or the case heads for trial.
Ask whether the fee is calculated before or after case expenses are deducted. On a $100,000 settlement with $8,000 in expenses and a one-third fee:
- Fee on the gross: $33,333 in fees, $8,000 in expenses, leaving $58,667.
- Fee after expenses: $92,000 net of expenses, $30,667 in fees, leaving $61,333.
Same settlement, same percentage, about $2,600 apart. Get the answer in writing.
Also confirm before you sign:
- Who pays expenses if the case is lost? Most reputable firms absorb them. Some agreements make the client responsible either way. Read that clause.
- Are expenses itemized on request?
- Is the fee different on appeal?
- Who negotiates the medical liens? Hospitals, health insurers, and providers holding letters of protection all have claims against your settlement. Reducing those is unglamorous work that comes straight out of your net recovery. Ask how they approach it.
You’re entitled to a copy of what you sign, and you’re entitled to take it home first.
How long do I have to decide?
In Texas, the general deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit is two years from the date of injury. Claims against governmental entities require written notice much sooner.
But the practical deadlines come sooner than the legal ones. Surveillance video can be overwritten within 30 days. Vehicles get repaired or sold for salvage with the onboard data still in them, damaged equipment gets replaced, and hazards get cleaned up. Witnesses may lose contact, and memories fade as time passes.
Talk to Loewy Law Firm
Loewy Law Firm has represented the injured in Austin and across Texas for more than twenty years. We have experience in all areas of personal injury and fight for justice and pursue maximum compensation. Consultations are free, and there’s no fee unless we recover for you.
We’ll help you determine whether you have a case. If a different firm is better suited to it, we’ll tell you that too. Call or contact us online, and bring your questions.
The content on this website is for general informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice. Laws change, and case outcomes depend on specific facts. Viewing this material does not establish an attorney-client relationship. For legal guidance on your specific situation, consult a qualified attorney.