How to Choose a Workers' Compensation Attorney

Many Choices

There are numerous attorneys in Maryland and numerous attorneys registered to practice before the Workers’ Compensation Commission in Maryland. How do you know who to choose?

Estimate the Value of a Workers’ Compensation Case

One way to quickly gauge the quality of an attorney is to ask him or her to give an estimate of the value of your workers’ compensation claim. If they can give the roughest of estimates of the value of the claim, they have the requisite knowledge and experience to handle your workers’ compensation case.

Of course, any attorney will tell you “It depends” when asked about the value of a workers’ compensation case. And without question, it does depend. There are many, many factors that will go into the calculation of the amount of your workers’ comp benefits. But, the attorney must know what it depends on. “What are the factors that determine how much a workers’ comp case is worth” is a question you can ask as a follow-up. The attorney should be able to answer the question immediately.

Workers’ Compensation Lawyers’ Websites

The attorney’s presence on the Internet is an important factor as well. Do they have a website? Does the website list workers’ compensation? A good workers’ comp attorney or firm will either have workers’ comp as the only thing they do or one of a few practice areas. (The bigger the firm, the more specialties they can have.)

Your Best Judgment

The key is to use your best judgment. If they sound like they don’t know what they are talking about, they probably don’t. Just because someone is a lawyer does not mean they have the knowledge to be able to handle your case. Furthermore, many attorneys think that workers’ compensation cases are easy and they can dabble in it on the side. Basic workers’ comp cases are fairly straightforward. However, some workers’ comp cases can be just as complicated as any other area of the law. If your case turns out to be difficult, for whatever reason, you want an attorney who handles workers’ comp.

If you use our workers’ compensation calculator, you may request to speak to a lawyer about your case.