Most people go through life experiencing at least one event that requires an attorney. At the very least, they must consult an attorney for advice. You may also have a situation in your life that requires you to obtain specialized legal services. The following are some common situations that might warrant using such a professional. It’s best to go into these circumstances with one of these experts to increase the chances of winning a case.
1. When You’re Accused of a Crime
You will need specialized legal services any time an arresting officer accuses you of any criminal activities. The charge you may have to fight can be as small as a disorderly person’s offense or as major as aggravated assault. The results can be the same for your reputation and livelihood. Most criminal charges at least have a minimal risk of landing a convicted person in jail. Just one day in jail can cause you to lose your job and essentially lose your car, home, family, and other possessions. Additionally, you’ll have a criminal record, which makes it difficult for you to obtain a new job or find a place to live.
At the very least, a criminal charge can ruin your reputation with the people in your neighborhood or cause people to mistrust you. To avoid all those negative consequences, it will be best to consult with an attorney and find out how such a provider can protect you from getting convicted. There may be a loophole or error in the accusing party’s methodology. There may also be a way of establishing doubt in the judge’s or jury’s mind. Alternatively, you may be completely innocent, and a criminal attorney might be able to prove that.
2. If You Get Hurt on the Job
Another situation where you might need specialized legal services is if you get hurt while you are at work or performing a work-related duty. Most decent-sized employers must keep workers compensation policies for all their employees. These policies are designed to pay injured workers a monetary benefit if they obtain an injury. Many injuries fall under the workers compensation umbrella and are compensable. They include broken bones, burns, lacerations, etc. Occupational injuries and mental health damages can also qualify for such compensation
Workers compensation policies typically cover 60-66% of a worker’s average salary until a doctor clears that person to return to work. The policy also pays for diagnosis, treatment, and medication for that worker.
To collect workers compensation, the injured person must be a legal employee of the responsible firm. They must also visit a doctor and receive a proper diagnosis with a recommendation to remove themselves from work duties for some time. The employee or the member of management must then initiate the claim.
The insurance company then reviews the case and decides whether it is valid enough to warrant benefit payments. If the answer is yes, the worker receives the benefit until their return to work date.
Most cases go smoothly, and injured workers recover and return to work soon enough. However, there are some situations where a workers comp lawyer must intervene for someone who wrongfully receives a case denial. There’s no need to worry if that happens to you. You can find an experienced provider who can present facts and evidence that cause the insurance company to overturn its original decision.
It’s important to note that many workers’ compensation attorneys do not request fees upfront. Many of them offer contingency representation, which means you will not have to pay for their services immediately. Instead, they will take a certain percentage of your lump-sum settlement when you receive it. That amount usually adds up to 25 to 40%. Therefore, you shouldn’t wait a moment if you have an issue getting the benefits you deserve. You can easily contact an attorney and begin second-guessing the ruling.
3. You Get Evicted
You might also need specialized legal services if you are a tenant who has been evicted unjustly or unfairly. A civil litigation attorney is the person who can come to your rescue in such a situation. One example of a case you can fight is where you get evicted for non-payment but then come up with the money later. Though this eviction may not be unlawful, an attorney can pull strings to get the courts and the landlord to rescind the eviction.
Your landlord may also attempt to evict you for a lease violation you did not commit. Lease violations give the landlord the right to request tenants be forced to move out of the property. Examples of situations that kick-start an eviction are noise ordinance violations and subleasing. However, you may have a case if you’ve been handed an eviction notice for something you never truthfully did.
In that case, a civil litigation attorney might be the best professional to look after and help you with your situation. All legal cases involve the element of doubt and a window of opportunity for attorneys to raise it in the person judging the case outcome. Hiring this type of attorney might be the only thing that keeps you in your apartment, so you should take out your checkbook and consider hiring one if you’re in jeopardy of losing your home.
4. Your Workplace Causes Mental Stress
You already know that you can file workers compensation claims if you get a physical injury on the job. However, you may not be aware that such an attorney can help you if a workplace causes you mental health issues. This fact may not be true in all states, but it is in some. Thus, it would help if you read the workers compensation laws in your state so that you’ll know where you stand when it comes time to fight an unfavorable decision.
Examples of mental health conditions that may warrant workers compensation are depression and PTSD. Workplace conditions can cause some workers to experience mental health crises because of the strain they put on their nerves and self-esteem. Unfortunately, some workplaces have stringent goals and quotas, demotivating managerial practices, and workers who don’t have the best social skills or the most respect for other workers.
These unfortunate circumstances could cause someone to get sick on the job. A workers compensation benefit can cover the mental health diagnosis and treatment for such an individual and give that person a chance to stay home and recover before returning to work. If you think you might be eligible for such a benefit, you shouldn’t wait another minute to contact an attorney for the specialized legal services that can help.
5. You Get Pulled Over for DUI
Getting accused of operating your car while having drugs or alcohol in your system is something that will require you to secure specialized legal services. The detriments of such a charge can devastate you and your family. You could lose your license, which will immediately put you in the class of people who have to find public transportation to get to work. Some charges can leave you with fines, jail time, and a poor reputation. For those reasons, you should consult an attorney who works with people facing such cases.
You might be surprised about the various angles a defensive attorney case uses to help protect you in the matter you’re facing. You might end up not losing your license for a single day. Breathalyzer installations are a corrective method some courts use for first-time offenders. Alternatively, you might be found not to be guilty of the accusation at all because of a truth or flaw in the system. Hiring a drivers license attorney is the first step in getting such protection if you receive an accusation that affects your credentials.
6. When You Want To Divorce
Divorce attorneys are recommended because they provide special legal services when you want to eliminate a marriage between yourself and someone else. Even if the divorce seems like an open-and-shut case, you should still speak to an attorney about how they can help.
Trying to do a divorce process yourself can result in lost money and wasted time on court case do-overs. Therefore, it’s best to hire someone if you have the funds to pay for representation the first time. You can shop around to find an affordable lawyer in your area. You might even be able to find one that will offer you a biweekly payment plan to represent you.
Hiring a divorce lawyer is an absolute must if your case involves prenuptial agreements, property distribution, custody, and visitation, or any desire for alimony or spousal support. You’ll need a professional child support attorney who knows the most updated calculation methods and how to establish what’s fair to distribute. You may want to consult with two or three lawyers before you move forward with the case just so that you get the most affordable price for representation.
7. When You Don’t Get Your Deposit Back
Another time when you might need specialized legal services is when you do not receive your security deposit back after moving out of an apartment. There might be several reasons a landlord could deny you such a refund. One reason is property destruction. A landlord can claim that you broke something inside the apartment that the landlord had to fix after you left. They would then deduct the money they had to pay for the repair from the security deposit upon your departure from the property.
Some landlords also have no qualms with charging their former tenants ‘cleaning fees’ that put dents in their security deposit refunds as well. While some of these practices are legal, some of them are not.
A landlord tenant attorney can read your lease to see if it mentions such charges anywhere in the document. There’s a good chance that you can get your money back if the lease contains no language that permits the landlord to keep your deposit. An attorney can also help you defend yourself and prove you did not leave your property the way they claim.
Even if you don’t think it’s necessary to go after such a small amount of money, you should speak to an attorney anyway. It’s your money, whether it’s large or small, and you deserve to have it given back to you if you lose it for an unlawful reason.
8. If You Suspect a White-Collar Employee
Executive search firms can offer rare specialized legal services. For example, they can investigate a white-collar employee you might suspect of a crime such as embezzlement or offering trade secrets to another organization. You might also need to hire these professionals to check someone’s background you’re considering putting into a white-collar position.
These professionals may have flat rates for their services, or they might charge you by the hour. You might need to consult with a few of them before you get a good idea of how much their representation will cost you, but their assistance might be very much needed.
9. If You Suffer a Personal Injury
You might also suffer from an injury that falls under the personal injury bracket. These types of injuries usually require specialized legal services because of their nature. Many injuries can be considered personal injuries, and as such, you might be able to receive monetary compensation for your diagnosis, pain care, medication, lost work wages, etc. You might also get additional compensation if the element of negligence is high in the case.
What you’ll need to do is perform a little research and find several lawyers who practice personal injury law. You might qualify if you’ve been hurt in a car accident, dog bite incident, or medical malpractice scenario. If that’s the case, you’ll tell the attorney a little about your injury, and then they will notify you if you qualify for representation. You will most likely not have to pay anything until the attorney wins your case.
You are now aware of quite a few instances that may require you to get specialized legal services. It would be in your best interest to schedule a consultation with a provider if you have any doubts about fighting any of these cases alone. It’s always best to have someone in your corner who can look out for you if you have a legal battle. The situations mentioned above are those in which hiring an attorney should be mandatory. Take your time and find lawyers who offer affordable consultation fees. Some may not have any attached to the first visit.