How Do I Pay My Personal Injury Attorney?

You were just in a car accident, and now you have unexpected, hefty medical bills and lost wages. Some people do not hire an attorney and try to handle it themselves. Personal injury cases are emotional, complex, risky, and time-consuming.

Avoid the headache and stacks of paperwork. Hire an attorney so you know how to handle the situation. Stress is high, and money is tight at this point. Most attorneys, including Mark Grover at the GroverLawKC, give you a free consultation to talk about your personal injury case.

Luckily, you do not pay your personal injury attorney the same way you pay attorneys for other areas of law. Lawyers in other areas of law, such as divorce or estate planning, often charge the client per hour or a flat fee. In most personal injury cases, on the other hand, when you are the plaintiff, you pay your attorney a “contingency fee.” Contingency fees work in favor of the client and ensure that everyone has access to justice. Put most simply, a contingency fee means that you only pay your attorney if you are awarded money in your case.

What is a Contingency Fee?

A contingency fee is a fee that is charged if the result is favorable to you. In other words, if you are awarded money in your personal injury case, whether that is from a lawsuit or a settlement, you use a portion of it to pay your personal injury attorney for the attorney’s legal services. In this situation, you do not pay anything upfront and just focus on your recovery. Your attorney’s firm handles all the upfront costs of working on the case.

How Is the Fee Determined?

The percentage should be agreed upon before the attorney takes on your case. Usually, the percentage hovers around 33 and one-third percent, sometimes it can be closer to 40 percent. The percentage can vary depending on when the attorney takes your case. The earlier your attorney can settle the case, the lower the percentage can be. However, if the attorney does not get to work on the case until the case goes to trial, it may be a bit higher. The reasoning behind the different percentages could also be risk, effort, or experience.

As you can see, there are many factors that play into how the contingency fee is calculated. If you do win money in your case, most often, your attorney will receive the check, collect what is owed to the attorney, and then give you the rest.

Some attorneys collect some of the costs they incurred while working on your case. Costs could include filing costs, police report charges, medical or billing record retrieval costs, expert witness costs, travel expenses, or mailing charges.

No matter what your law firm charges, this amount will be discussed with you and agreed on before the attorney takes your case.

What Are the Advantages to a Contingency Fee?

Contingency fees are comforting to the client not only because it is little risk to your wallet but also because ensure that your attorney will work diligently for the best results. If you do not win any money in your case, the attorney does not collect the fee for the attorney’s services.

Call GroverLawKC

Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney can help you get your life back on track and put you back in the position you were in before your injury. Whether you were injured in a car accident, slip and fall, premise liability claim, or any other type of personal injury case, your attorney will handle the headache so you can recover.

Your attorney will work hard to get you fair compensation. Call Mark Grover with the GroverLawKC at 913-432-1000 to set up your free consultation today.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.