If you find yourself in need of a personal injury attorney, there are six criteria you should take into consideration. These characteristics can help ensure you get the care and attention you need during a challenging time. These six measures include:
- Specialty in personal injury law
- Gets large settlements and verdicts
- Member of trial lawyer associations and other groups
- Credible reviews and testimony on previous work
- Willing to work on a contingency fee
- Active and engaging online
Let’s take a look and see how Frank W. Pettigrew meets these critical characteristics.
1. Specialty in Personal Injury Law
If you look at Frank’s website for his law firm, personal injury law is one of the principal focuses. They are part of the Grand Prairie Auto Accident Attorneys, and they also specialize in other personal injuries such as:
- Clients hit by drunk drivers
- 18-Wheeler collisions
- Hit and run
- High-speed collisions
- Pedestrian injuries
- Commercial and industrial trucking
- Motorcycle injuries
- Injury to minors
- Injuries as a result of road design or improper signage
- Wrongful death
- Survivor’s benefits
These are just a few of the areas that Frank covers, but you can always call and talk with the firm to see if they have the expertise to handle your case. So far, Frank meets tip one criteria.
2. Gets Large Settlements and Verdicts
Nowhere on Frank’s website does he have any settlements he has made or the verdicts he has reached over the years. This is common for many attorneys and not a huge red flag. If you ever come across a settlement or verdict from an attorney, you want to ensure that it is similar to your case. Reading about settlements and decisions from a particular attorney in a situation that is like yours can give you a better feel for how the attorney will handle your case.
If you do decide to use Frank W. Pettigrew, you can ask him about previous settlements and verdicts.
3. Member of Trial Lawyer Associations and Other Groups
Frank was born and raised in Grand Prairie, Texas and takes an active role in the State Bar of Texas. His website also lists:
- He was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1982
- Got his bachelors at the University of Austin in 1978
- Obtained his law degree from South Texas College of Law in 1982
Other than that, we couldn’t find any other groups that Frank was a part of in Texas. You can ask him about his involvement in other associations if you decide to contact him.
4. Credible Reviews and Testimony on Previous Work
No matter where we looked, we could not find any reviews on Frank’s previous work. There were no reviews on his website or Facebook page nor were there reviews on Google, Yelp, or Yellow Pages. While this is not necessarily a terrible thing, it is helpful to hear from previous clients about previous cases.
The one positive thing about no reviews of Frank means that no one is posting fake reviews and leading potential clients to believe false information. There are also no negative comments to be found, which is a plus. Now let’s see how Frank does with criteria number five.
5. Willing to Work On a Contingency Fee
Personal injury attorneys will often work on a contingency fee. A contingent fee essentially means that unless the attorney successfully handles your case and you win some amount of money, they won’t get paid. If you do win your case, the lawyer will take an agreed upon percentage of your winnings as a part of his fee.
While Frank’s website does state that they offer free initial consultations, we could not find anywhere that he works on a contingency fee. Just because it wasn’t listed on the website doesn’t mean it isn’t the case for his law firm, but you should ask specifically about that before you sign any contract.
You can also email Frank, or he has an Ask an Attorney feature on his Mansfield website.
6. Active and Engaging Online
Frank does have a website for both his Mansfield and Grand Prairie office that allows clients to email or contact him through the site. He also has a Facebook page, but there doesn’t seem to be any activity other than a link back to his website.
Other than his LinkedIn account, which is also relatively sparse, Frank doesn’t have much of an online presence. According to his website though, he is pretty active in his community and has lived there his entire life. He frequently helps clients in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex as well as the surrounding areas of Ellis, Denton, Johnson, and Collins.
From the little we could find online about Frank W. Pettigrew, he seems like he could be a great option for a personal injury attorney. We encourage you to contact his firm in either Grand Prairie or Mansfield directly to get more information on a few of these criteria such as settlements, verdicts, and ensure that he works on a contingency fee.
