Each year, 1.5 million people in the U.S. survive a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and about 230,000 of those are hospitalized. If you or someone close to you has been unlucky enough to be one of those 230,000, you might need money for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering. Many brain injuries can cause lifelong disabilities, so getting back to work in the future might be off the table, too. When you or someone in your family has been hurt badly and the bills are piling up, you might start wondering if it’s worth it to sue the party responsible for your injury.

Only a personal injury lawyer who specializes in brain injury cases can tell you whether you have a case and what that case is worth. But you shouldn’t just hire the first attorney you talk to. You should talk to several brain injury lawyers in your area and choose the best one. How do you know which one is the best one? Consider his or her experience, track record, and reputation, but don’t forget to factor in his or her responsiveness and communication skills.

Consider Their Experience and Track Record

When it comes to choosing any kind of personal injury lawyer, including a Denver brain injury lawyer, you need to choose someone who has experience working on your specific kind of case. A slip-and-fall lawyer or a dog bite attorney isn’t going to have the specialized experience and knowledge to successfully litigate a brain injury case. You may even want to go so far as to choose a lawyer who specializes in TBIs caused by specific circumstances – for example, an attorney who specializes in brain injuries caused by car accidents as opposed to one who specializes in brain injuries caused by work accidents.

When you meet with an attorney, ask how long they’ve been practicing law. Ask about their success rate. Make sure the attorney you choose has experience both settling cases and taking them to court. Most brain injury cases will be settled, but if you need to take your case to court, you want to have an attorney who has experience litigating.

Investigate Their Reputation

There are a few things you can do to make sure an attorney you’re considering hiring has a good reputation. You can ask family and friends who may have used the same attorney. You can look at the attorney’s Facebook page and other social media for reviews and user testimonials. You can look up reviews, ratings, and disciplinary records for attorneys in your area on Avvo. You can go ahead and ask the attorney directly for a list of client references, and then check them. You can also ask the attorney what percentage of his or her clients come in due to referrals from other attorneys. They’re probably well-respected if other attorneys are willing to refer clients to them.

Ask Who Will Be Working on Your Case

If you go with a small firm, there might only be one attorney working on your case – and that might mean that things move slower or that you get less comprehensive service than if you went with a larger firm. If you do go with a larger firm, ask the first attorney you speak to which lawyers will be working on your case and what kinds of work they’ll be doing. Speak with all of the lawyers who will be working on your case and check all their references to make sure they’re reputable and that you can work together.

Evaluate Their Responsiveness and Communication Skills

It’s important that you click with a brain injury lawyer, because you’re going to be working closely together and possibly for a long time. You want to choose a lawyer who is responsive to your attempts to communicate – someone who calls back quickly and is receptive to your questions and concerns. You also want a lawyer with good communication skills – someone who can explain your case so that you understand it. If you feel that a lawyer is hard to get a hold of and you leave the meeting baffled by what they’ve said, you probably need to find a different lawyer.

Finding a good brain injury lawyer can take a lot of legwork. You’ll have to meet with several attorneys, check their backgrounds, and review their references. But finding an attorney you can work well with is worth the extra effort, especially when you win your case.