Deepwater Horizon Explosion Victims: Lawyer Urges You To Take Your Time In Hiring Counsel

If you are a victim of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, right now is about the time when you will begin to realize that Transocean, British Petroleum, Shuman Consulting, and the other involved companies likely have a "hidden agenda" which does not include taking proper care of you or your family.

As time goes on, you have more and more questions. But the companies are providing you with fewer and fewer answers.

Maybe you are having problems with your maintenance and cure checks. Or you don't feel like the company doctors are caring for you properly. You thought you were required to give that recorded statement, but you found out that you really were not required to do that. You thought you could only see company doctors, but found out that you could see your own doctors. The company sent you some forms to sign, but you are worried about signing away your legal rights. You have been asking the companies a lot of questions about how they will protect your future, but they really don't commit to anything.

The bottom line: you are now beginning to realize the companies could have been much more forthcoming about your situation, and about your legal rights.

Any victim of the Transocean rig explosion will be well served to hire an attorney. But that doesn't mean you should rush out and hire an attorney right away. There is no reason to do that. Hiring a lawyer to protect your legal rights after an offshore disaster like this is a very important task. After all, you are entrusting the lawyer to protect and secure your future.

So take your time. If you lost a family member, be with your family and go through your mourning process. If you sustained injuries, focus on trying to get better. Keep your doctor appointments and follow your doctors' advice.

When you are ready to focus on hiring a lawyer, talk to a lot of lawyers. Ask them a lot of questions. Are they board certified? How many offshore cases have they handled? Have they ever taken an ofshore injury case to trial? What kind of results have they obtained for their clients before you, and do they have the documents to back up their track record? What do their prior clients say about their work? Will this attorney actually handle your case, or is he or she going to "refer" it to some other lawyer to handle?

We have compiled a list of Seven Critical Questions anyone should ask a lawyer before hiring them on a personal injury case. As a victim of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, you should ask the attorneys you interview each of these seven questions.

You can also read a report we wrote on how to hire the best lawyer for a maritime case: How to Hire the Best Attorney For Your Maritime Injury Case.

Asking these questions takes time. But it is time well spent.

Any attorney that discourages your questions, or tries to rush you through the process, should be rejected immediately.

Any lawyer who tells you that something bad will happen with your case if you don't hire them "on the spot" is not being truthful with you and should be rejected.

Any lawyer who contacts you out of the blue and who directly solicits you is breaking the law and should not only be rejected, but reported to the State Bar.

If you take your time and go through this process of interviewing lawyers, you will have the best opportunity of hiring the right lawyer for you.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call us Toll Free at (877) 724-7800.