Lawyers’ Fees in Your Personal Injury Case

Sustaining injuries in an accident can be an overwhelming and stressful experience. To add on the emotional and physical trauma that you face, you will have lost wages, medical bills and other financial challenges to address. 

You can navigate these difficult moments and pursue compensation for the damages by hiring a personal injury lawyer. However, some people fear to hire these lawyers because of the cost implication. When you have a comprehensive understanding of the fees and costs that are associated with personal injury cases, you will be able to make a more informed decision. 

Including personal injury attorneys in your case makes a big difference in your success. Lawyers strive to give you the best legal representation is this determines their compensation. You will get so many insights about the lawyers’ fees in any personal injury case. 

Types of Lawyer Fees

The cost and fee of an attorney is a critical consideration when seeking for legal representation. You need to understand the various types of fees in order to make an informed decision. There is no single approach that lawyers take when charging fees. Several factors determine how the attorney will charge you. Attorney fees can be categorized into three groups that comprises hourly rates, flat fee and contingency fee. Famous-personal-injury-lawyers prefer to use the contingency approach when billing clients. 

1. Hourly Rates

 Like other professionals, lawyers can charge you an hourly rate. The fee ranges from $200.00 to $400.00 in most states. However, most personal injury lawyers don’t use this approach. They tend to do some form of contingency billing that reflects the number of hours worked. It is worth noting that these rates vary depending on your type of case and the kind of lawyer that you hire. 

2. Flat Rate

In this case, the lawyer will charge a fixed amount for the specific type of service that he provides. You have to agree on the amount upfront and don’t depend of the number of hours that the attorney works. This practice is common in estate planning and criminal cases but rare when dealing with personal injury. 

The advantage of flat rate is that it provides predictability and transparency as you will know the exact amount you will be paying for the legal representation. It also motivates lawyers to work effectively and efficiently because they are not billing you hourly. However, attorneys prefer to bill hourly when dealing with complex legal matters. 

3. Contingency Fees

In this billing approach, you pay the attorney depending on the result of the case. If the lawyers fail to get a recovery from the case, you will not pay him anything. Lawyers prefer to use this approach when they are sure that the case will generate a recovery. 

It is normally a percentage of the amount that is recovered from the case. In most cases, the value ranges from 33% to 40% of the recovered amount. The percentage typically depends on the complexity of the case. 

This fee is a common practice for personal injury cases. You always pay a fraction of the award or settlement that you receive from the case. Such agreements have mutual benefits to both the lawyer working on the case and the client. 

In some cases, personal injury lawyers can charge modified contingency rate. In this case, there will be a flat contingency fee on top of the hourly rate. However, the flat contingency case in such a case will be lower than what you would pay if there is no modification. The hourly rates will also be lower than the typical ones. However, most lawyers who work on a contingency basis do not combine it with the hourly rates. 

Typical Billing for Personal Injury Cases

Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis hence take a percentage of what you are awarded as a settlement from the case. The average of contingency fees in the United States typically ranges from 33% to 40% of the recovered amount. Be keen to ask the lawyer during your initial interview because the amount varies from one law firm to another. 

No Upfront Payment with Contingency Fees 

The good news about contingency fees is that you are not required to make an upfront payment. The attorney will represent you without requesting for any upfront payments. If the case succeeds, the lawyer will take a proportion of the payment as his fee. If the case does not succeed, the lawyer won’t receive anything from the case. 

The contingency fee is more beneficial to any client who does not have the financial resources to get legal representation. Upfront fees are financially risky especially when you are not sure about winning the case. Besides, these terms of payments act as an incentive to the attorney to work hard and get the best possible outcome. 

Injury Attorney Fees vs. Costs 

Injury attorney fees are very different from injury attorney costs. The fee will cover the actual services that the lawyer provides. If there is an extreme thing that is outside the services of the personal injury lawyer falls under the costs. Personal injury costs refer to expenses that lawyers incur as they work on your case. The costs tend to be so significant and add up very fast especially when the case is complex.

Examples of these costs include photocopy services, legal software subscriptions, postage and shipping, cost of medication, expert witness fees, travel costs, the cost of serving subpoenas, court filing fees, and medical record fees among others. 

The Issue of Timing

Asking the attorney about timing of contingency fees is crucial because it determines the amount that you will pay. Do you calculate the contingency fees before or after making the attorney costs? If the contingency fees are charged before paying the expenses, it will reduce your share of award. Therefore, the best deal is to pay the contingency fees after meeting the expenses. It is the best way to get a higher award from the case. 

The Secret of Keeping the Cost of Your Personal Injury Case Down

Time is money especially when dealing with personal injury cases. Even though you cannot control the contingency fees that you will pay, you can minimize the expenses incurred. This is more practical if your lawyer agrees to work with modified contingency fees. 

In such a case, you can agree on a lower hourly rate. Otherwise, the only way to reduce the fee is reducing the amount of time the case takes. You can do that by getting organized and hiring a lawyer who is experienced.

How to Increase the Amount of Award

To increase the amount of award that you get from the case, act as soon as you can and ask for punitive damages. Take the shortest time possible to collect the records, evaluate your budget, and find legal representation. Pay close attention to the statute of limitations as it states the amount of time that you have to file the lawsuit. 

Punitive damages are awarded to a victim on top of what you get like compensatory damages. These are meant to punish the defendant for his actions and prevent him and any other person from similar contact in the future. These damages are not allowed or required in all the cases. However, the judge can order for them or the attorney can request to have them. 

Bottom Line

A good settlement during personal injury hearing varies from one case to another. However, the best offer should be an actual reflection of the sustained damages. The amount recovered varies depending on the case specifics such as lost wages, medical bills incurred, impact on life, injuries, ongoing treatment, etc. 

A good settlement should allow you to recover fully without going through further emotional distress or experiencing financial hardships. Getting the best personal injury lawyer is a good starting point for any personal injury case. 

Read Also: A Comprehensive Guide To White Collar Crimes 

 

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