If you have been injured or have suffered pain and suffering as a result of negligent behavior, you may be wondering how much it costs to hire an attorney. An experienced attorney will usually take a standard percentage of any final settlement amount. This will include all court costs and fees associated with your court case or insurance agreement. As a general rule, the personal injury lawyer will receive 33% of the final settlement amount in the case.
However, cases that go to trial often incur different costs. The purpose of this fee structure is to minimize the client's financial risk by hiring an attorney to represent them. The lawyer will contact you when you receive the settlement check and must provide you with an itemized list of what you deduct from your settlement check to cover the attorney's fees, costs, and expenses. If the client does not get a favorable outcome (in other words, he does not receive money), then the lawyer does not charge fees.
Personal injury lawyers rarely charge an hourly rate, but instead charge what is called a “contingency fee.” In most cases, a personal injury lawyer will receive 33 percent (or one-third) of any settlement or award. In a nutshell, it's a settlement where your lawyer won't charge you unless the case is won or there is a settlement. These percentages often depend on your lawyer's experience, the laws of the state you live in, whether your case is going to trial or not, as well as the complexity of your case. As such, knowing the percentage that the lawyer can take ahead of time can take the extra financial pressure off your back.
In most personal injury cases, the services of an attorney are offered on a contingency fee basis, meaning that the attorney's fees for representing the client will be deducted from the final personal injury settlement in the client's case or from the compensation for damages after a favorable verdict, in the rare case that the client's case reaches the trial in court. In other words, a dog bite lawyer must prove that the owner knew or should have known that the dog was dangerous or could bite someone. If you are in a situation where you think you have to fire your lawyer, it is best to agree in writing that you will not ask for interest on the fees or expenses of the case. If you suffer injuries due to an accident that wasn't your fault, hiring a personal injury lawyer in Alabama is an affordable way to seek maximum optimal compensation.
After a final settlement amount is reached in a case, the check will usually be sent to the plaintiff's attorney of record. The information provided on this site does not constitute legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is and will not be formed through the use of the site. Most contingency fee agreements give the lawyer a percentage of between 33 and 40 percent, but you can always try to negotiate a reduced percentage or an alternative agreement.
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