If you’ve been injured in a scuba diving accident, it’s vital that you seek legal representation as soon as possible. The entities involved in your accident most likely have legal representation available to them, and simply accepting a settlement is not normally in an injured party’s best interest. While we wish accidents didn’t occur, the fact is that they do. Here are some tips for hiring the right attorney after a scuba diving accident.
Who Needs a Lawyer?
Anyone who has been injured due to a dive-related accident can benefit by retaining an attorney. Commercial divers injured on the job or during work-related topside accidents, recreational and technical divers injured in accidents, and public safety divers injured during the course of duty are all individuals who may benefit by obtaining legal representation.
Selecting an Attorney
While finding an attorney to handle a family law case or a personal injury case related to an auto accident or other common incident is easy, you may have to spend a little time searching for an attorney who specializes in maritime law and who is familiar with legal cases involving scuba divers. When seeking legal counsel, ensure that you make your final choice based on the attorney’s past history in successfully litigating maritime law cases, and be certain that the attorney you select has personal knowledge of scuba diving physics and physiology, particularly if your case involves barotrauma.
If you are a commercial diver at risk of losing your livelihood after a diving accident, take extreme care in hiring your attorney. While there may not be an experienced attorney available in your area, you’ll find that some firms specializing in maritime law are willing and able to send an attorney to you, so that you do not have to rely on a less-knowledgeable counselor.
Since your future rests at least in part on the outcome of your case, it’s incredibly important that you exercise extreme care in choosing your attorney. See whether past cases are available for review, and go through them carefully. Interview a few attorneys during the selection process, and be sure that you do not rush or simply choose your legal representation based on fees.
During the selection process, be cautious about sharing your story with others. Some unscrupulous lawyers will stop at nothing to take cases just for their share of a potential judgment, without really understanding what your case is all about and without doing the necessary legwork to leave no stone unturned in getting you the judgment you deserve. It has been said that hiring an attorney is a lot like hiring a new employee, and in a sense that is true. Use your gut instinct, pay close attention to potential counselors’ qualifications, and look for previous results which you can verify independently.
Armed with this information, you’ll find that selecting an attorney after a scuba diving accident is much less stressful. And, once you’ve chosen the right attorney, you’ll find that your legal case is much more likely to go smoothly.