When you need to hire an accident attorney, the first thing you should ask is about charges. Never make any assumptions about how much accident lawyers charge. This will avoid shock and hard feelings once the case is settled.
There are two ways lawyers are paid for their fees: on contingency or by the hour. With most personal injury cases, lawyers are paid a contingency fee.
What is a contingency fee?
A contingency fee means that accident lawyers will be paid out of the negotiated settlement if you win your case. If you don’t win your case, the lawyer will not receive a fee. If you win your case, you will also have to pay your lawyer for preparation fees. In most cases, personal injury lawyers will waive the fee if they fail to win.
What percentage does the lawyer get?
If you win your case, the contingency fee will be a percentage of the award. The percentage taken by lawyers vary depending upon the state. For instance, in Georgia, a lawyer may 33% and sometimes up to 40%.
If a lawyer is charging more than 40%, you need to find someone else. Of course, there are times when a lawyer is open for negotiation. But if a lawyer is pretty much set on certain terms, don’t expect much.
One of the biggest advantages of a contingency fee is sometimes clients may not believe their lawyer has earned the huge payout from the settlement.
Find out about award calculation.
You also need to understand how your award is being calculated. There is a gross award or net judgment award. The gross award is what you have before the lawyers take out his or her fees. The net judgment is the award after the fees have been taken out.
If the lawyer requires an hourly fee, this means you will be responsible for reimbursing the lawyer whether you win or lose. In most cases, the client is required to pay the money up front. Very few can do that. An accident lawyer may opt for an hourly fee if he feels your case is not winnable.
Have a conversation with your attorney.
When you speak with an attorney lawyer, get a good understanding of what’s what. Have them walk through the numbers with you so everything is transparent.
Here are a few good questions to ask:
1. How much do I stand to win with my personal injury case? A lawyer can give you an estimate of how much he thinks you can win in damages.
2. How much of the award will go towards legal fees? This is a question that needs to be answered asap. Once you have this information, you can make an informed decision on whether or not you want to hire this attorney.
3. How much will go towards attorney expenses? The attorney should be able to give you a clear estimate of how much this fee will run.
4. How much money will remain after the bills are paid? If you have a high-dollar settlement, you want to be able to retain at least 35-38% of your award.
It is important that you have a frank and open conversation with your accident lawyers, so there will no confusion about who gets paid what.
