If you have been involved in an accident through a car accident, at work, in public through someone else’s negligence, or medical negligence, you can initiate a personal injury claim. A personal injury attorney specializes in personal injury claims and can help you seek the rightful amount of compensation for the injuries you suffered due to the accident. Although you can seek compensation by yourself, you have better chances of success and making the best out of your claim with a  personal injury attorney on your side.

But you may be wondering how personal injuries really work in terms of the fees and costs and how you will cover the costs. According to the Scura attorneys at law, these few insights can help you understand more about legal fees and costs regarding personal injury claims.

The no win no fee agreement

The no-win-no-fee agreement means that if the lawyer does not win your personal injury claim, you don’t pay them any fee. Therefore, you do not suffer any risk. Many personal injury lawyers work on the no-win-no-fee agreement, but you must look into the agreement’s details to ensure you understand everything beforehand. Some agreements require you to pay the lawyer’s costs and disbursements even if they lose the claim, which can amount to a huge bill on your side.

Contingency fee agreement

Many personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis. That means you do not pay any money up front and you pay them when your compensation is reimbursed. In most cases, the lawyer’s fee may be 33-40% of the amount they collect as compensation for your claim. Remember that there are medical expenses to subtract and sometimes you may realize that you take home much less than the lawyer got from the insurance company. Luckily, you can renegotiate the lawyer’s fee.

In most cases, it is not easy to come up with the lawyer’s fees upfront and most personal injury clients also find it challenging to pay a lawyer on an hourly basis in pursuit of their claim. With contingent fee agreements, the lawyer takes up the case without requiring any client’s money and agrees to take their fee as a percentage of the client’s final settlement. That benefits both the client and the lawyer. However, contingency fees may not be cheap because the personal injury attorney is taking a huge risk, and you are not paying any fees upfront.

Should you hire a personal injury lawyer on a contingency fee basis?

You need to be informed before deciding to hire a personal injury lawyer on a contingency fee agreement. For instance, if the insurance company is persuading you to accept only a portion of the expected compensation and you think that your claim is worth much more, it is worth getting a personal injury attorney on a contingency basis. You have so much to gain in such a scenario.

Lawyer’s costs injury claims

Lawyers’ costs are different from the fees. They refer to all the expenses the lawyer has incurred to pursue your claim, such as investigating the accident, hiring experts, etc. Depending on your agreement, you may have to pay the lawyer’s costs out of your final settlement amount.

the takeaway

Avoid disagreements about lawyer’s fees and costs by getting the fee arrangement clear at the beginning.