How to Hire the Best Fire Injury Lawyers in Pennsylvania

A fire can break out just about anywhere. Think about the possibilities in your home: Attic, basement, kitchen, and laundry room. Although you can suffer from a home fire that was caused by negligence, most fires started because one or more acts of negligence usually happen outside of the home.

Workplaces

Lack of maintaining a safe work environment contributes to the starting of fires in the workplace. Failing to repair a faulty sprinkler system and not adhering to government regulations can lead to the development of a fire in the workplace.

Factories

A factory is a tinderbox waiting for fires to start. Improperly stored combustible materials and a poorly maintained dust removal system can trigger fires. An electrical system that includes many exposed wires can start a fire as well.

Defective Products

Defective products represent the most common reason for a home fire to develop. Inferior wiring of appliances can generate sparks that connect with combustible materials such as clothing. This is an especially prevalent fire issue in laundry rooms. 

Vehicles

Motor vehicles should be the poster product for fire injuries. Highly combustible fuels and elaborate electronic systems combine to create the perfect storm for starting a fire. Negligence can come in many forms, with an auto manufacturer or the driver of another vehicle representing the two most common sources of fires caused by negligence.

Determining negligence for the starting of a fire requires intensive investigative work. The team of investigators at Morgan & Morgan is considered one of the best in the area of personal injury law. We gather and organize evidence to discover whether someone intentionally set a fire. Arson remains the leading act of negligence to contribute to the starting of a fire. Our team of fire injury attorneys interviews witnesses and reviews the safety inspections conducted by local government agencies.

After completing an investigation, we might hold one or more parties responsible for starting the fire that left you with serious injuries.

• Owner of a house or apartment building
• Property manager
• Seller of a defective product
• Manufacturer of a defective product
• General or independent contractor
• An employer seeking insurance money

When arson is proved to be the cause of a fire, Morgan & Morgan follows standard procedures for contacting and then working closely with the appropriate law enforcement departments.

As a victim of a fire caused by negligence, you want to seek justice in the form of compensation. In cases of negligence, the plaintiff must demonstrate the defendant has a legal duty to protect the plaintiff. The plaintiff must also prove the defendant breached the legal duty, as well as was the primary reason for the fire starting. For a product liability case, a Pennsylvania-licensed personal injury attorney must show the defendant manufactured, distributed, and installed the product in question that harmed the plaintiff.

Compensatory damages award money to the victims of a fire in cases that involve negligence. Damages vary from state to state, but the following types of compensatory damages are considered common in the American judicial system.

• Costs of diagnostic tests
• Expenses associated with treatment
• Rehabilitation services and equipment
• Future medical bills
• Lost income
• Property damage

The list of compensatory damages typically comes with a price tag. For example, it is easy to calculate the costs of all diagnostic tests. However, pain and suffering does not include an easy to calculate price tag. An experienced lawyer can help you recover the costs associated with pain and suffering.

Hiring the best fire injury lawyer in the Keystone State requires you to spend the time and use the research skills required to get the job done right. Hiring the best fire injury lawyer in PA involves knowing what attributes to look for in legal counsel, as well as knowing where to look when the time comes to make a decision.

Ask for Referrals

Networking is still the most effective strategy for selecting products and services. Maybe you know a friend, family member, or professional peer who has worked with a personal injury lawyer. A recommendation from someone that you trust can help you save time and money during the attorney selection process.
You might also know a lawyer who knows an attorney who practices personal injury law in Pennsylvania. A lawyer’s reference is especially helpful because it includes in-depth knowledge about the skill set and experience of a fire injury litigator.

Create a List of Criteria

When you shop for a car, you write down the features and accessories that you want in a motor vehicle. Although searching for the right personal injury lawyer involves a more human touch, you should write down the attributes that define the perfect legal counsel. One criterion is non-negotiable for every victim of a fire injury.

You want to work with a Pennsylvania personal injury attorney who has successfully litigated fire injury cases that involved acts of negligence.

Here are some examples of criteria that might appear on your list:

• Years of experience
• Size of law firm
• Legal credentials
• Track record
• How does the attorney or law firm charges clients
• Client testimonials

Credentials and Track Record

You can expect to hear about the importance of working with an attorney who has considerable experience litigating fire injury cases. Although experience matters, it is more important to examine an attorney’s record of success. For example, you want to hire the best fire injury lawyer in PA who has compiled an impressive record of winning cases for clients. A fire injury lawyer might have 10 years of experience, but a fire injury attorney with five fewer years of experience might have won many more cases.

For professional credentials, consider the following benchmarks when searching for the best fire injury lawyer in Pennsylvania:

• Result of Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
• Graduated law school that is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA)
• Licensed to practice personal injury law in Pennsylvania
• Authored papers that discussed personal injury law topics
• Participates in continuing education programs
• Board certification for personal injury litigation

Responsiveness

You can find the most experienced fire injury lawyer who possesses impeccable professional credentials and could still walk away shaking your head because of one glaring weakness.

The lawyer takes too long to respond to your emails, phone calls, and text messages.

A civil lawsuit filed for negligence in a fire injury case is a serious legal maneuver. If you work with an attorney who fails to keep you updated on the latest turn of events, you can expect your anxiety level to soar through the roof. Nothing contributes more to anxiety during a civil trial than uncertainty.

Your fire injury lawyer must respond to your communications promptly, as well as keep you in the loop during every phase of the litigation process.

Research, Research, Research

Even if you receive a glowing recommendation for a personal injury lawyer in PA, you should still conduct extensive research not only on the recommended attorney, but also on every other fire injury lawyer on your shortlist.

Start by accessing the database created by the Pennsylvania Bar Association. The Find a Lawyer tool can help you learn more about the litigators on your shortlist of candidates. Then, read the reviews left by clients on sites like Yelp and Google. You want to discover a pattern of positive feedback that refers to an attorney’s ability to win civil lawsuits for fire injury cases.

Charges on a Contingency Fee Basis

You want to work with a personal injury lawyer who charges on a contingency fee basis, which means the lawyer gets paid when the court awards you a judgment. You do not have to pay any upfront legal fees and your attorney should be highly motivated to win you as much in just compensation as possible.

Schedules a Free Case Evaluation

If there is one factor that should eliminate an attorney from consideration, it would be the unwillingness to schedule a free case evaluation. During a free case evaluation, you get the opportunity to discover whether the lawyer sitting across from you is the right attorney to represent you during a civil lawsuit.

Suffering from one or more fire injuries can leave you scrambling financially for years to come. Finding out one or more parties could have prevented the fire adds more angst to an already high-anxiety legal case.

You cannot afford to cut corners when it comes to legal representation. Hiring the best fire injury attorney in Pennsylvania puts you on the right course to receive just compensation.

Schedule a free case evaluation with Morgan & Morgan to ensure you receive the best legal representation for your fire injury case.