What Are Contingency Fees?
Personal injury lawyers are often paid via contingency fees. At the beginning of the attorney-client relationship, the client agrees to pay their lawyer a percentage of the settlement they win or the insurance claim payment they negotiate at the end of the case.
If the client agrees to pay a 30 percent contingency fee, the attorney will receive $15,000 of every $50,000 recovered. In that situation, a client would receive $70,000 from a $100,000 settlement. It might seem like the client is losing a lot of money, but in many scenarios, it is extremely unlikely the client would reach a $100,000 settlement without the assistance of an attorney. In fact, the claim payment they negotiate could fall well below the $70,000 they do end up receiving.
How Do Contingency Fees Benefit Clients?
Lawyer Accessibility
A major benefit of contingency fees is that you do not need to pay your lawyer upfront. Between medical bills, lost wages and other injury-related expenses, many people do not have cash lying around for an unexpected personal injury case. Injury victims often aren’t able to work, meaning they might have trouble getting together enough money to pay their rent, much less a lawyer.
Contingency fees enable the injured party to secure skilled representation right away.
Lawyer Incentive
A lawyer who is paid with a retainer or has an hourly fee will be paid regardless of the outcome of their client’s case. If a personal injury lawyer does a poor job representing a client, their failure could mean hours, if not days, of uncompensated work. Lawyers have expenses too, like their staff, office and utilities. Even a subpar claim payment may result in the lawyer losing money on a client’s case.
Conversely, working hard to win their client a large settlement means more cash in their bank account.
What Are the Characteristics of Good Personal Injury Lawyers?
Integrity
The contingency fee is a great motivator for lawyers, but a person’s integrity speaks volumes. An attorney with integrity will care as much—maybe even more—about your recovery than your settlement.
If the lawyer cares more about the money than they do about you, it might not be easy to trust the decisions they make and the advice they give when representing you. Your lawyer’s actions could say a lot about their character. Lawyers with integrity tend to be better listeners and show more compassion, whereas an attorney who is all business might be primarily focused on a nice payday.
Detail-oriented
Medical bills and lost wages are just the beginning of determining a personal injury settlement. A good attorney should be able to synthesize all the details of your injury into an accurate yet compelling account of your accident that also incorporates non-financial damages like your pain and suffering.
What Are Other Types of Fees?
Hourly Fees
Instead of receiving a cut of the client’s earnings through contingency fees, hourly fees require the client to pay an hourly fee, which can be costly depending on the length of the trial.
Flat Fees
In place of contingency fees, clients may need to pay a flat fee in exchange for the lawyer’s representation. A benefit of a flat fee is that clients know what to expect up front. The downside is that the client agrees to pay it without knowing the outcome of their case.
Modified Contingency Fees
Some lawyers charge clients a reduced hourly fee coupled with a lower contingency fee. Modified contingency fees could be beneficial if you expect a short case and a large settlement.
Should I Hire an Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer?
The decision to hire a personal injury lawyer is up to you. After suffering an injury, some people don’t want to deal with the hassle of filing a claim or risk not getting the compensation they deserve. Even if your claim is approved, it might be hard to determine if your settlement is as high as it should be for your situation.
ATL Elite connects Georgians with experienced personal injury lawyers who will fight to help you win the settlement you’re owed. If you experienced a car crash, slip and fall accident or another injury caused by somebody’s negligent actions, you might benefit from hiring a personal injury lawyer. Consider visiting our website so you can find a personal injury lawyer.
