Get more detail on how your personal injury attorney gets paid.
If you have been injured in an accident that was someone else’s fault, you are almost certainly going to need an attorney. The only scenario in which you might not need an attorney would be if all of the following are true:
- You were offered a settlement immediately by the defendant’s insurer
- This settlement represents the full amount provided under the defendant’s policy limits
- This settlement is equal to all your past, present, and future damages stemming from the accident
If you believe this describes your case, you will still want to at least consult an experienced personal injury attorney to confirm that accepting a settlement is your best course of action.
Remember:
You can consult a personal injury attorney for free.
The Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas offers free, no-obligation initial consultations to all prospective clients. These consultations provide an excellent opportunity to get an expert opinion as to the strength of your position and the wisdom of hiring an attorney to fight for your interests.
If you decide to hire a personal injury attorney…
You should never pay a penny up front.
Almost all personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means that they will not receive any payment for their services or for various expenses incurred on your behalf unless they win you a settlement. The contingency fee is the mark of an attorney that is confident they can resolve your case favorably and so it should be very encouraging to you to have your case accepted on a contingency fee basis by an attorney. There is no reason to ever pay money upfront when attorneys such as Fernando D. Vargas are available on a contingency fee basis. If an attorney asks for money upfront it probably means you do not really have a good case for compensation.
Contingency Fee Basics
Assuming you have hired an attorney on a contingency fee basis and won a settlement, here is what will happen:
- Your attorney will take a percentage of your settlement as their fee. This is typically about a third of the total settlement value. The exact amount can be found in your fee contract, which you would have signed when hiring the attorney. Be aware that some fee contracts specific a rising rate for the contingency fee. This means that the attorney’s percentage will grow if the case proceeds to litigation instead of being settled outside court.
- You will reimburse your attorney’s expenses from your portion of the settlement. There are many costs and expenses involved in building a strong argument for compensation in a personal injury case. This includes things like court filing fees, process server fees, expert witness fees, and deposition transcript costs.
- You will take the remainder of your compensation as a lump sum or structured settlement.
Want to Learn More?
If you have further questions about hiring Fernando D. Vargas as your personal injury attorney, please contact us at 909-982-0707.
