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Deciding to hire a lawyer can be a big step. Wrongful death attorneys are often stigmatized as 'unseemly' and an attempt to profit from the unfortunate death of a loved one. This is not the case. A good wrongful death lawyer helps the heirs come to understand why the recklessness, carelessness or negligence of another person brought about the death. Further, hiring a wrongful death lawyer helps to create a deterrent effect: by holding the wrongdoer accountable for violation of a safety rule, others will act with due care, acknowledge safety rules and work, play, drive their car or provide medical care in a competent and reasonable manner. If an attorney is not hired to file a lawsuit, the negligent actor is never held accountable for their carelessness and, unfortunately, may continue to act in a reckless or negligent manner that exposes other families to the loss of love, society, support and companionship of a brother, sister, father or mother.

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Hiring an attorney to protect your rights in wrongful death cases presents its own challenges. First, you want to avoid a law firm who need to keep their advertising engine running by feeding it quick settlement dollars. The TV lawyers might be the first who come to mind, but they should not be the first choice. The phone book yellow pages might seem a good place to go as well. But, those same lawyers who spend millions on TV, also spend millions on yellow page advertising. Obviously, the internet is a great resource for finding lawyers to help with your problem. But, again, be aware that lawyers who show up in the 'ad' portion of Google searches, i.e. the very top and far right hand side of a Google search, actually pay a high price to be placed there.

Once you locate a few attorneys that you'd like to speak with, go ahead and set an appointment and meet them. Attorneys who handle wrongful death cases typically offer free consultation. Additionally, attorneys in this area work on contingency fee, typically starting at 33%, with no fee to you unless the case is won.

Look for the following qualities when hiring a wrongful death attorney: trial experience, trial experience, trial experience. A firm that regularly goes to trial and takes cases on appeal has the respect of the insurance companies and their adjustors.