Hiring a personal injury lawyer is one of the best decisions to make after an accident. You will need to hire a good lawyer who can provide the most compelling evidence of the losses caused by an accident to maximize your compensation.
Finding a good lawyer is not the hard part. The cost is. Many people seeking the services of a personal injury lawyer worry about how much it will cost them. Here is a brief look at the costs.
Costs Incurred When You Hire the Services of a Personal Injury Lawyer
Hiring a lawyer for any service does not come cheap. For a personal injury lawyer cost, the following will come from your pocket or compensation from the settlement.
Contingency Fees
The majority of personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis. This means you do not pay the lawyer hourly but as per the nature of the project or case. The fee charged is a percentage of the settlement amount.
One of the advantages of contingency fees is that the lawyer you choose will fight tooth and nail to win the case and get enough settlement for you and their fees. You are not responsible for paying contingency fees if the lawyer loses the case, which means that lawyers only accept cases with higher chances of success.
Settling the fee before filing the legal action determines the fee charged by a personal injury lawyer. The lawyer will typically receive one-third of the total settlement amount if you settle before the trial. If you settle filing a case, the lawyer typically receives 40% of the total sum.
The proportion may differ slightly based on the attorney. Because of this, attorneys are interested in maximizing your monetary recovery, even if the numbers above look high.
Court Fees and Additional Costs
The positive thing is that you are under no obligation to pay your lawyer any fees unless you win. However, injury lawsuits, like many others, are costly. Essential court fees need payment whether you win your settlement or lose. The costs are:
- Exhibits for the trial
- Expert witness fees paid on a case-by-case basis
- Fees for filing
- Medical records
- Police reports
- Reporters for the courtroom
What Is The Estimate Of The Total Costs?
It is hard to determine the entire cost of a personal injury lawsuit. The costs vary from one lawyer to the next, the intensity of the injuries, and the time it takes to settle the case.
In most cases, if the lawsuit continues, costs will rise. Attending a deposition necessitates paying for the court reporter’s services, and if you are preparing for a trial, you will need to pay for the production of exhibits. In many cases, court costs and fees take 10-15 percent from your settlement payout.
As an illustration, you might have a personal injury contingency fee arrangement with a lawyer. The lawyer will receive 40% of the settlement amount if you settle after initiating a lawsuit. Months pass while your attorney investigates the facts of the case and prepares for trial.
If you settle before going to trial, you could collect $200,000, with $80,000 going to your lawyer. In some cases, court expenses may incur an additional $30,000, which your attorney will subtract from your $120,000, leaving you with $90,000. Consult a reliable personal injury lawyer first for suggestions on making the whole process less costly.