If you’ve been hurt in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, you could be owed compensation for the harm you suffered as a result. A lawyer can help you pursue this compensation, but if you’ve never worked with a personal injury attorney before, you might not know how much hiring one costs. This could be a particularly pressing concern if you are already facing financial pressure from medical bills and lost wages. Fortunately, most car accident lawyers offer favorable fee arrangements that allow clients to obtain the legal services they need at little or no upfront cost.
If you want to learn more about what it costs to hire a car accident lawyer to help you with a claim for compensation after being injured in an accident, reach out to Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC for a free initial claim review. A Georgia car accident attorney from our firm can answer your questions about retaining legal counsel for your case at no cost or obligation from you. We charge our clients nothing until the case has been settled, and all other parties have been paid by the insurance company.
Types of Lawyer Fee Arrangements
A client hiring an attorney typically signs a fee agreement spelling out how they will pay the lawyer for their services. Lawyer fee arrangements fall into three broad categories:
- Flat fee – In a flat fee arrangement, the lawyer agrees to handle a specific legal task for a set price. For example, a lawyer may be hired to write a contract for a client for a flat fee.
- Retainer fee – A retainer fee arrangement is typically used when a lawyer is hired on an hourly basis. In this arrangement, the client pays a pot of money called a retainer to the lawyer up front. As the lawyer performs work on the client’s case, the lawyer charges their hourly rate and deducts it from the client’s retainer. The lawyer may ask the client to replenish the retainer as it is depleted or may invoice the client for the lawyer’s work once the retainer is exhausted. If any retainer funds remain at the end of the client’s case, those funds are returned to the client.
- Contingency fee – Contingency fee arrangements are most frequently used for car accident and other personal injury plaintiffs. In a contingency fee arrangement, the client does not pay any money up front to hire the lawyer. Instead, the lawyer earns a legal fee only if they secure compensation on behalf of their client, typically an agreed-upon percentage of the recovery. Not only does this put the financial risk of winning or losing a case on the lawyer’s shoulders, but it incentivizes them to secure as much money as possible.
How Does a Contingency Fee Work in a Car Accident Case?
Under a contingency fee agreement in a car accident case, a lawyer will agree to represent a car accident victim at no up-front cost to the client. Contingency fee arrangements work best for car accident plaintiffs because they may not have the financial resources to pay a lawyer a retainer for an hourly rate or flat fee – especially if they are dealing with medical bills or lost wages from missed work. If the lawyer can win compensation for the client, the lawyer is paid a percentage of the total financial recovery they obtain for their client. This compensation may come from a settlement with the insurance company or the at-fault parties or a trial verdict against liable parties.
Contingency fee percentages can range anywhere from 25 percent to 40 percent. The specific percentage can depend on factors such as the locality where the case takes place, the lawyer’s skill and reputation, the strength of the claim, and how much work the lawyer estimates will be needed to resolve the case. Many contingency fee agreements in car accident cases use a sliding scale of percentages, with the percentage the lawyer collects for their fee increasing as the case progresses. For example, a fee agreement may state that the lawyer will collect a 25 percent fee if they can settle the client’s case without needing to file a lawsuit in court, a 33 percent fee if a lawsuit is filed in the case but settled before trial, and a 40 percent fee if the case ends up going to a verdict.
In addition to setting out the lawyer’s fee, a contingency fee agreement will also establish how the costs of the case are to be handled. These expenses could include:
- Photocopying and mailing expenses
- Expert witness fees
- Costs of obtaining police reports/records and the client’s medical records
- Deposition fees, including court reporter fees and transcription fees
- Court filing fees
- Arbitration or mediation fees, if the case is resolved through alternative dispute resolution as opposed to trial
How Are the Costs of a Car Accident Claim Paid?
Each car accident lawyer or law firm will handle the payment of the costs of a case differently. That said, most attorneys will cover the costs of the case so that the client does not need to pay anything up front to pursue their claim. In the lawyer’s fee agreement, the attorney will usually be entitled to reimbursement for the costs of the case that they covered. Some lawyers will want to be reimbursed for case expenses in addition to their legal fee, with the contingency fee percentage calculated either before or after deducting costs from the total financial recovery. Other lawyers may choose to roll the case expenses they pay into their legal fee. Finally, some lawyers and law firms require the client to eventually reimburse these costs, even if the attorney ultimately loses the case.
You should always review any proposed fee agreement with a car accident lawyer to understand how the costs of your case will be handled. Most car accident attorneys offer a free consultation with prospective clients so that you have an opportunity to ask questions and better understand how much the attorney’s services will cost.
Contact Us to Learn More About How a Car Accident Lawyer Can Make a Difference in Your Case
Many accident victims wrongly assume they cannot afford to hire a lawyer to represent them. Don’t fall into this trap yourself. You could be owed compensation for your injuries, and getting that money might be more affordable than you think. Contact Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC today for a free, no-obligation consultation to speak to a car accident lawyer about your case. Contact us today to get started.
