What will my Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?

Hiring a lawyer to handle a personal injury or wrongful death claim should not cost you anything less you recover a settlement or verdict. This is called a contingency fee — the fee is contingent on there being a recovery on your claim. Typically, an injury lawyer will charge 33% to represent you if your case is settled before a lawsuit is filed. Once a lawsuit was filed, the fee generally increases from 33% to 40%. Some attorneys will increase the fee for 40% to 45% if the case is tried to a jury. This most often happens in complicated cases like medical malpractice cases.

In addition to a contingency fee you will also be responsible to pay the costs/expenses associated with your case. The case costs are relatively low, most often less than $1000 if your case is settled before a lawsuit is filed. Expenses at this point are mainly made up of the costs of obtaining copies of all your relevant medical records. Once a lawsuit is filed, the case costs can increase significantly. Here, in addition to the costs of obtaining medical records, you will also probably have filing fees, court reporter fees, and expert fees which can be very expensive. Typically, the amount of the case costs are related to the complexity of your claims. A clear liability car crash case with slight injuries has relatively low case costs. On the other hand, a medical malpractice case with catastrophic injuries or a death can costs tens of thousands of dollars.

If you have any questions about the fees or expenses that might be associated with a case you may pursue or one that you are already involved with, please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss these issues.