Car Accident Lawyer Fees

fte c

ccident,

e kno

you’

e st

essed out. Bills

e piling up quickly,

ith no

elief in sight. You

nt help getting compens

tion fo

you

medic

l bills

nd lost ges, but you don’t nt to stin you

fin

nces

ny fu

the

to p

y fo lye

The

e’s good ne

s: c

ccident lye

s unde

nd you

situ

tion

nd nt to help. This is

hy these l

s use specific fee ngements th

llo

you to get leg

l help

ithout p

ying

nything upf

ont out-of-pocket.

hile l

s in m

ny p

ctice

s chge by the hou

, pe

son

l inju

y lye

s gene

lly ch

ccident victims in

diffe

ent y. They use something c

lled

ef="https:

.l.co

nell.edu/

contingent_fee”>contingency fee. > In sho

t, this me

’s p

yment is contingent on them successfully

inning you

se,

hich me

ns obt

ining

settlement o

d fo

you

losses. If you

lye

ils to get

settlement o

judgment fo

you, you don’t p

y them

cent. Thei

livelihood depends on you

s, giving them

ll the mo

e motiv

tion to fight fo

you.

Does this sound too good to be t

ue? It’s not. The leg

l field unde

nds th

t eve

y inju

y victim dese

ves

dequ

te leg

esent

tion, but m

ny people c

nnot

ffo

d hefty

ine

s o

hou

ly fees. This is

hy the contingency

ngement exists.

d on fo

e info

tion

bout c

ccident l

fees.

e the Fees
o
th It to Hi
e
C
ccident L

ye
?

Fi
st off,
hen you he
bout the pe
cent
ges
l

ye

ill t
ke
s thei
fees, you m
y think it’s not
o
th the cost to hi
e someone to
ep
esent you. Ho
eve
, in m
ny c
ccident c
ses, it’s
lmost
l

ys
o
th it to seek leg
l help. This is bec
use
lye
c
n often secu
e
much highe
settlement o
d th
n
c
ccident victim c
n on thei
o
n. Pe
son
l inju
y lye
s h
ve expe
ience
ith insunce cl
ims fo
hund
eds o
thous
nds of c
ccidents -
hile you, hopefully, do not!

Still on the fence? Conside
the follo
ing scen

io.

You decide th
t you don’t nt to p
y fo

l

ye
bec
use you

nt to keep you
enti
e settlement. You
losses—
s you c
lcul
ted them—

e
bout $15,000 b
sed on you
medic
l bills
nd the t
o
eeks you missed
o
k. The insunce comp
ny ch
llenges ce
t
in losses o
cl
ims you
e
e pti
lly
esponsible fo
the c

sh,
hich c
uses them to
educe you
settlement offe
to $10,000. You negoti
te
ith them
nd fin
lly
g
ee to
ccept $12,000. This le
ves you
esponsible fo
p
ying $3,000 of losses out-of-pocket.

On the othe
h
nd, im
gine this: you decided to spe
k
ith
n expe
ienced c
ccident l

ye

ight
fte
the c

sh,
nd you
g
ee to
contingency fee. The l

ye
cefully
evie
s you
situ
tion
nd dete
mines th
t in
ddition to the $15,000 in medic
l costs
nd lost ges, you
lso dese
ve p
yment fo
futu
e medic
l expenses,
ncill

y expenses,
nd p
in
nd suffe
ing. The l

ye
estim
tes you
losses
t $28,000, but is likely s
vvy enough to stt negoti
tions even highe
.
hen the insu

nce comp
ny m
kes
lo
b
ll offe
, you
lye
kno
s ho
to comb
t it,
nd ends up getting
settlement fo
the full $28,000. The costs of the cl
im
e
e $1,000,
hich the l

ye
deducts. Then, the lye
t
kes the st
nd

d 33.33% sh

e of you
$27,000 net settlement,
hich is $9,000. This le
ves you
ith $18,000. Inste
d of h
ving to p
y $3,000 out-of-pocket fo
you
losses, you no
h
ve $3,000 MO
E TH
N
h
t you initi
lly expected.
ddition
lly, most
tto
neys

e
illing
nd
ble to help negoti
te
eductions on outst
nding medic
l bills o
he
lth insunce sub
og
tions, le
ving you
ith even mo
e “net” money in you
pocket. The
bove is only one ex
mple of
hy it is
o
th it to p
y fo c
ccident
tto
ney. The highe
the v
lue of you
c
se, the mo
e c
itic
l—
nd
o
th
hile—it usu
lly becomes to hi
e
st
ong
tto
ney. This is especi
lly t
ue if you
c
se
ill likely go to t
i
l.

If the insu

nce comp
ny gives you
ny t
ouble, you don’t h
ve to fight them
lone. Don’t hesit
te to c
ll
c
ccident
tto
ney
ight
y to len
bout
ll of the options
v
il
ble to you on the
o
d to justice.

Ho
the Contingency Fee
o
ks
s mentioned
bove,
contingency fee me
ns th
t you only p
y once you
eceive you
settlement o
ju
y

d. But ho
much
ill you p
y then? It’s not
o
th it to hi
e
n
tto
ney to get you
settlement if the enti
e thing
ill go
ight b
ck to the
tto
ney! The good ne
s is th
t this
on’t h
ppen,
s contingency fees
ill only be
p
eviously set pe
cent
ge of you
settlement. E
ch st
te h
s its o
n specific
ules
egding possible pe
cent
ges fo
contingency fees. Gene

lly spe
king, they nge f
om
bout 30 to 45 pe
cent,
ith the st
nd

d being
ight ound one-thi
d, o
33% fo
c
ses th
t settle
ithout the necessity of
l

suit being filed.
e f
equently find fees fo
p
emises li
bility cl
ims to be highe
, bec
use these c
ses e genelly hde
to
in
nd t
ke signific
ntly mo
e effo
t on the p

t of the
tto
ney
nd thei
st
ff. Some contingency fee
g
eements
ill h
ve diffe
ent pe
cent
ges b
sed on ho
you
c
se gets
esolved
nd the
mount of
o
k the c
se
equi
es. Fo
ex
mple,
n
g
eement could include the follo
ing:

33% if the c
se settled du
ing the initi
l p
ocess but befo
e
l

suit is filed

40% if you
nd the
tto
ney
g
ee th
t it is necess

y to file
lsuit<
li>

45% in the event of
n
ppe
l o
second t
i
l

No m
tteh
t

ngement
c
ccident l

ye
p
oposes, you should
lys ensu
e th
t you completely unde
st
nd it befo
e you sign
n
g
eement. This p
yment system c
n confuse people, so clify
ny confusion o

sk
ny questions you m
y h
ve
bout the p
yment contct
S
P. The c
ccident
tto
ney
ill be h
ppy to fully
dd
ess you
questions o
conce
ns.
Ho
Does the L

ye
Chge fo
Expenses?
s pt of the contingency fee
g
eement, you should knoho is
esponsible fo
cove
ing v

ious litig
tion expenses. Such expenses c
n include:

Investig
to
s
nd expe
ts

Cou
t filing fees<
li>

Costs of se
vice
nd subpoen
s<
li>

Fees to obt
in police
epo
ts o
medic
l
eco
ds<
li>

Fees of cou
t
epo
te
s

You should c

efully
evie
the
g
eement to dete
mine
hethe
you’ll be
esponsible fo

eimbu
sing you
l

ye
fo
these fees
nd expenses if you p
ev
il in you
c
se. Some c
ccident l

fi
ms expect the client to cove
such costs
s they ise,
nd if you c
nnot m
ke the
equi
ed p
yments
hen they

e due, you
c
se m
y st
ll in the me
ntime. On the othe
h
nd, m
ny fi
ms h
ve the
esou
ces to cove
these costs up f
ont fo
you.
hen you
eceive
settlement o
d, you
lyeill deduct those fees f
om the settlement
long
ith the
g
eed-upon pe
cent
ge f
om the g
oss
mount of the settlement.
Othe
Possible Fee

ngements
hile
contingency fee

ngement is the most common in c
ccident c
ses, some
tto
neys m
y use
diffe
ent type of fee ngement. Some ngements m
y involve p
ying
n up-f
ont
et
ine

s
ell
s
contingency fee. In these c
ses, you

et
ine
should be subt

cted f
om the
g
eed-upon pe
cent
ge you o
e the l

ye
once you
c
se is ove
. If you p
id
$2,000
et
ine

nd the l

ye
’s pe
cent
ge comes to $100,000, they should only t
ke $98,000 f
om you
settlement.

It’s
e fo c
ccident
tto
ney to ch

ge
fl
t fee fo

n inju
y cl
im,
s they might fo c
imin
l c
se. Ho
eve
, if
ll you nt
l

ye
to do is dft
dem
nd lette
fo
you (o simil one-time t
sk), they m
y
g
ee on
fl
t fee fo
th
t se
vice. This is something you’ll need to discuss
ith e
ch individu
l
tto
ney.
Selecting the
ight C
ccident L Fi
m fo
You

Fee

ngements should definitely be
f
cto

hen you

e deciding
hich c
ccident l

ye
to hi
e.

Don’t be
fid to
sk the follo
ing questions
s you ev
lu
te e
ch
tto
ney b
sed on the

y they

nt to ch

ge fo
thei
se
vices:

h
t pe
cent
ge of you
settlement

e they
sking fo
?

ill they
equi
e you to p
y expenses
s you go, oill they cove
those costs
nd deduct them l
te
?<
li>

Did the l

fi
m give you e
listic

nge of outcomes to expect?

Ho
much do they estim
te they
ill spend in costs
nd expenses? Does the numbe
seem
e
listic b
sed on the complexity of you
c
se?

Does the l

fi
m seem like they e being
e
listic
nd f
i
, o
e they just t
ying to “sell” you?

Cost should not be the one
nd only f
cto
in choosing the
ight
tto
ney. “Budget” l

ye
s
ho ch

ge ve
y little m
y not h
ve the expe
ience,
esou
ces, o
confidence to h
ndle high-doll

cl
ims
nd dem
nd st
nd

d pe
cent
ges. Ho
eve
, cost c
n be pt of you
decision, especi
lly if diffe
ent c
ccident l fi
ms

e ch

ging in diffe
ent ys.
Ethic
l Conside

tions
egding Contingent Fees

C
ccident lye
s c
nnot simply chge
h
teve
they
ish fo
thei
se
vices. L

ye
s h
ve to comply
ith m
ny ethic
l
ules,
nd the
e

e <
h
ef=”https://
.
me
ic
nb

.o
g
g
oups
p
ofession
l_
esponsibility
public
tions
model_
ules_of_p
ofession
l_conductule_1_5_fees
“>
ules
eg

ding fees
nd p
yment >. Some of these
ules
dd
ess the follo
ing:

ll contingent fee
g
eements should be in

iting.

Fees
nd expenses must be
e
son
ble unde
the ci
cumst
nces of the specific c
se. Fo
ex
mple, ch

ging
50% contingent fee fo
el
tively simple c
ccident insu

nce cl
im, o
ch

ging $10 pe
in-house copy is not
e
son
ble.

L

ye
s should p
omptly est
blish the b
sis
nd te of
ny leg
l fees.<
li>

Fees must be in line
ith
ny
pplic
ble st
te ls.<
li>

Fee
g
eements should neve
c
use
lye
to cu
t
il se
vices oct
g
inst
client’s best inte
ests.<
li>

If t
o l fi
ms

e splitting
fee, the client should only be billed once.<
li>

Disputes ove
fees should be h
ndled in
cco
d
nce
ith
ny m
nd
to
y o

ecommended dispute
esolution p
ocedu
es in the st
te, such
s medi
tion o
bittion.<
li>

Ove

ll,
contingent fee
ligns
c
ccident l

ye
’s inte
ests
ith you
o
n, since they
ill not get p
id
single cent unless you successfully
ecove
fo
you
losses.

e the Fees
o
th It to Hi
e
C
ccident L

ye
?<
b>

Ho
the Contingency Fee
o
ks<
b>

Ho
Does the L

ye
Chge fo
Expenses?

Othe
Possible Fee

ngements

Selecting the
ight C
ccident L Fi
m fo
You<
b>

Ethic
l Conside

tions
egding Contingent Fees<
b>

Testimonials

e the Fees o th It to Hie C ccident L ye ?<b>

Ho the Contingency Fee o ks<b>

Ho Does the L ye Chge fo Expenses?

Othe Possible Fee ngements

Selecting the ight C ccident L Fim fo You<b>

Ethicl Conside tions egding Contingent Fees<b>