In most cases, personal injury law firms operate on a contingency payment arrangement business model, which means their fees are dependent on the outcome of a client’s case. Continue reading to learn more about personal injury lawyer fees, and what you can expect to pay for regarding your case.
Contingency Fee Payment Arrangements
The majority of personal injury attorneys work on a contingency-fee basis. So, if your personal injury lawyer offers their professional services using this business model, it means they do not collect any payment from their clients unless they recover a settlement or verdict. Clients who are billed on contingency only pay the lawyer after they are awarded compensation. Now, the amount a client pays their personal injury lawyer out of their settlement depends on various factors, namely the complexity of the case, the longevity of the legal process, and the number of legal resources needed to acquire a full and fair settlement in the end.
Under a contingency-fee arrangement, a client pays nothing at all if their lawyer does not obtain a settlement or verdict for them.
No Upfront Fees
Because a contingency-fee payment arrangement requires a client to pay for their lawyer’s service only after a settlement or verdict is won, there are no upfront or initial legal fees to satisfy. Hiring a personal injury lawyer requires no payment of any kind unless they recover compensation for you; then you must pay for their services, as well as any additional legal fees incurred during the process.
Average Lawyer Fees
Personal injury lawyers will write up a payment arrangement contract in the beginning, so you will know exactly what to expect in terms of paying your lawyer bill after the case is settled. In some cases, a lawyer might need to send the defendant party a demand letter or obtain further information, which would require a revision of the payment agreement if the case were more complex than initially thought. Although it varies greatly from firm to firm, most personal injury attorneys’ fees range between 33 and 40 percent of the total settlement recovered. In addition to paying this fee, clients will also have to cover any expenses incurred by the lawyer during the case.
Post- Settlement Legal Fees
When working on contingency, a personal injury lawyer usually pays for any needed legal resources to build their case. Then once a settlement is awarded, the client must pay these fees back, as well as the overall fee for legal representation. Such fees outside of the lawyer’s service fee include expenses like court costs, filing fees, medical records, police reports, investigator fees, expert witness fees, depositions, transcripts, trial exhibits, and even mailing postage.
In the end, personal injury lawyer clients can expect to pay between 40% and 65% of their total settlement. So long as you find an experienced Indianapolis Indiana law firm to represent your case, you will have more than enough compensation to cover all of your losses, plus pay your lawyer their due.
Are you looking for a personal injury lawyer to represent your accident claim? Contact the Law Office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to schedule a free case evaluation with a skilled and experienced accident attorney in Indianapolis, Indiana. We represent injured persons throughout the State of Indiana.
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