After suffering a personal injury, you have many things to deal with. Your health is your main priority, but money concerns are also at the forefront. However, you also need a personal injury attorney to help you obtain the best possible result in your case. The good news is that legal representation and your financial situation do not have to stand in contrast. You can afford a personal injury attorney for your case no matter what because you do not have to pay anything out of your own pocket.
Thus, if you do not already have a personal injury lawyer, you should immediately contact one. Since your attorney gets paid the same amount no matter what, it truly makes no sense to delay this call.
First and foremost, a personal injury lawyer has the knowledge and experience to handle the legal system on your behalf. They understand the ins and outs of personal injury laws and know how to gather the necessary evidence to support your case. From interviewing witnesses to obtaining medical records, a lawyer will work hard to build a solid case in your favor.
To understand why hiring a personal injury attorney is not a financial stretch, you must know more about how and when a lawyer gets paid. You may be surprised that there are no affordability concerns because no money changes hands at any time. Of course, there is a financial incentive for a personal injury lawyer to work for you, but you are taking no risk.
Personal Injury Attorneys Do Not Get Paid By the Hour
Personal injury attorneys do not get paid in the same way that other attorneys are for their work. If you hire a lawyer for help with your divorce or tax advice, they will likely bill you hourly. They will ask you to pay some money upfront as an advance against future work and draw against this retainer as they work on your case. When the retainer starts to run out, you may have to pay an additional retainer against future billings. In other cases, a lawyer will bill you a flat fee for a legal engagement, but they will also expect money upfront. Although you may need legal help in other contexts, an upfront financial commitment is necessary to hire a lawyer.
You Can Have a Precarious Financial Position When You Have Suffered a Personal Injury
Several uncertainties can complicate your finances when you have suffered a personal injury as you are dealing with challenges involving your health. Moreover, you have an uncertain chance of success in your case, no matter what the facts are.
The first difficulty you are dealing with is that medical expenses may besiege you. Even if you have health insurance, you likely have some cost share that requires you to pay money out of your pocket. Any financial contribution to your medical care can be a heavy lift when you are already in a precarious economic situation.
Second, you may not be working because of your personal injury. Your missed time may have reduced your earnings even if you have returned to work. You may be unable to do the same job you did before your accident, lessening the money you can make.
As a result, you do not have any extra money to spare. Because of your complicated financial circumstances, you may already have difficulty paying your bills and keeping a roof over your head. The last thing you may have money for is hiring a personal injury lawyer.
You Do Not Have to Come Up with Money to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney
Although good news may be hard to come by during this difficult time, there is one silver lining in your situation. As tenuous as your finances are, you do not need to devote your limited money to hiring a personal injury lawyer. To be clear, a personal injury lawyer does not work for you for free. However, how they get paid (and whether they even receive money) differs from other kinds of attorneys.
Unlike other lawyers, a personal injury attorney does not even have any assurance of receiving payment. You only have to commit to one thing when you hire a personal injury attorney, and that is not in the form of a check.
You Agree to Pay Your Personal Injury Lawyer When and If You Win
To get a personal injury attorney working on your side, you need to sign a representation agreement with them. This agreement is the same as any contract in that each side promises the other some type of performance or prospect of payment. The personal injury lawyer will provide you with legal representation in your case. In exchange, you promise to pay them if and when you win your case.
You will never have to pay a personal injury attorney out of your own pocket. If they do get paid in connection with your case, it comes from the proceeds of your case. In other words, a personal injury lawyer only receives payment if and when you win your case. Here, winning is defined as receiving a check for your injuries, whether a settlement or jury award.
The representation agreement specifies the percentage your personal injury lawyer receives if you win your case. Here, there are usually two different percentages that are in a representation agreement:
- Your personal injury case will usually end in a settlement agreement. The representation agreement specifies that your lawyer receives a lower percentage from a settlement.
- If your case goes to trial, a personal injury attorney may receive a higher percentage of your proceeds because they have invested more time and taken on a higher degree of risk.
Additionally, personal injury lawyers offer free initial consultations. During this consultation, you can discuss the details of your case and get an estimate of the potential compensation you may deserve. This allows you to evaluate whether pursuing a claim is financially viable for you.
Everything a Personal Injury Lawyer Charges Must Be in the Contract
There are some constraints on what a personal injury lawyer may charge you as a fee for your case. Each attorney is bound by rules of professional responsibility that are generally consistent across all states. These rules state that a lawyer’s fee must be reasonable in light of the services that they provide you. Thus, the lawyer cannot simply choose any percentage they want to take after winning your case.
Further, the amount the lawyer receives is set in the contract when you hire them, and they cannot raise it if the case turns out to be more complicated than anticipated. At the same time, your personal injury lawyer receives the same amount, no matter how much work they did for you to get your settlement. They will receive the same percentage whether you reach a quick settlement (relatively rare) or if your case gets dragged on for a considerable time.
A personal injury lawyer cannot charge you anything not clearly described in the representation agreement. The same principle applies when it comes to fees for your case. Some personal injury lawyers may absorb these fees independently, while others may deduct them from your settlement agreement before you receive compensation. Knowing whether the attorney is charging these fees before you sign the representation agreement is vital. You may even compare several attorneys to see how they handle fees in your case.
Your Personal Injury Lawyer Does Not Get Paid if You Do Not Win
What a contingency representation means is that your personal injury lawyer only gets paid when a specific thing happens. Namely, that means that you have won your case by receiving a settlement or a jury award if your case goes to trial and you win. You may wonder what happens if you do not win your case since you are already in a difficult financial situation. While not winning your case is certainly not good news, you will not have to pay a sizeable legal bill. Your personal injury attorney, however, will take a hit because they have just worked for you for free.
Your Personal Injury Lawyer Needs to Know That You Have a Strong Case
In reality, a personal injury lawyer only wants to accept your case if there is a high chance of success. They know that they will have to provide you with diligent legal representation for the duration of your case, and they cannot drop you as a client if the case does not appear to go your way. Accordingly, you can expect a personal injury attorney to do their due diligence before agreeing to accept your case. They will want to learn more about your case’s facts before signing the representation agreement. Personal injury attorneys have limited time to devote to their clients and prefer to spend their time on cases that result in payment.
Hire a Personal Injury Attorney as Soon as Possible
Since it is easy to hire a personal injury lawyer from a financial perspective, the question then becomes when you should reach out to an attorney. Your personal injury lawyer gets paid the same percentage of your proceeds no matter when you hire them for your case. Thus, getting legal help as early as possible makes sense because your lawyer makes the same amount of money. You should avoid doing some parts of your case alone because you may do immeasurable harm to your case that your personal injury attorney cannot undo.
It is in your best interest to contact a personal injury lawyer now to schedule an initial consultation for your case. A personal injury attorney does not charge you anything for speaking with them. In turn, you can gain valuable information and knowledge about the legal process and learn more about your case. In the meantime, you have taken the first step to securing legal help as you fight for financial compensation. If you are pleased with the personal injury lawyer and believe you can work with them, you sign a representation agreement that makes them your attorney for your case.
There Are Serious Drawbacks to Not Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
Insurance companies are notorious for minimizing payouts or denying valid claims altogether. Without legal representation, you may be at a significant disadvantage when dealing with these organizations. A lawyer will have the skills and experience to advocate for your rights and negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf.
If you do not hire a personal injury attorney to represent you in the legal process, your case will be more challenging right off the bat. Insurance companies know exactly what to do when they see a claimant who does not have a personal injury attorney. They will do everything possible to reduce or eliminate their liability; you will never see it coming until it is too late. You simply have no knowledge of the legal process and the tricks insurance companies use to get the best of you in settlement negotiations. They may not even make you a settlement offer in the first place because you cannot come up with evidence of negligence to prove your case.
Then, you can only know how much your case is worth when you have an experienced personal injury attorney to calculate your damages. A lawyer can estimate the value of your damages and go to work to help ensure you get compensation for every dollar you are due. If it becomes necessary to fight the insurance company in court, a personal injury attorney can file a lawsuit on your behalf. Either way, you need help to go through the legal process.
Hire An Experienced Personal Injury Attorney To Fight for Your Rights
Hiring a knowledgeable lawyer for a personal injury case is worth it. The contingency fee arrangement ensures that you do not have to pay anything upfront, and the benefits of having an experienced Langston & Lott attorney on your side are invaluable. If you have suffered a personal injury, do not hesitate to reach out to a reputable attorney who can guide you through the legal process and help you secure the compensation you deserve.
