How do Personal Injury Attorneys Collect Compensation from Clients?
When pursuing a personal injury suit, one of the first questions you will have for an attorney is how they will collect compensation. It is likely that you will hear the term contingency fee thrown around frequently when it comes to workers’ compensation, disability and personal injury cases. The following, outlines the details surrounding contingency fees so that you may have a better understanding of them if you decide to pursue a personal injury case.
Contingency Fees
When it comes to a contingency fee, you will only be required to pay your attorney if they win your claim. Your attorney will be entitled to a certain percentage of your personal injury award if your claim is won. In most agreements with attorneys, they will only collect a fee if they are able to win your lawsuit. The amount of your lawsuit that an attorney collects can range from 25-40 percent of your total award. There are a number of factors that the attorney will look at when determining how much the fee will be. There are a number of benefits to hiring an attorney who works on a contingency basis including:
- The relief it can bring to clients who are likely to already be struggling financially due to expenses they have incurred as a result of the accident. Waiting to settle legal fees until a lawsuit is won can alleviate financial stress and burden that a client may be carrying.
- A client will not have to worry about making payment to their attorney until after the lawsuit is settled.
- A client will not be required to pay their attorney unless their lawsuit is won.
- It can be motivating for an attorney to work towards winning a client as much compensation as possible because they are motivated to earn money themselves.
Do I Qualify?
It really becomes up to an attorney in regards to whether or not they will collect payment in this way. An attorney will likely utilize fee structure in this way if the case they are taking on could result in a huge award, such as from a motor vehicle accident or a medical malpractice case. Usually attorneys will only work in this way if they feel confident in winning the case.
Speaking with a personal injury attorney such as the Personal Injury attorney Desmoines IA locals trust is the best way to determine if they are willing to work with you on a contingency fee basis. They will be able to decide if your case is strong enough to be awarded a settlement once they have gone over the details of your case. It is common to be able to meet with an attorney to go over your case free of charge, so you risk nothing in meeting with them to determine if a claim makes sense.
Thanks to authors at Johnston Martineau LLP for their insight into Personal Injury Law.