You have sustained serious injuries in a car accident and believe that you have a valid personal injury lawsuit. Your immediate step should be about consulting an attorney. There is no law that states that hiring an attorney for your case is mandatory. You can always choose to represent yourself. Personal injury laws in New York, however, are inherently complex, and for someone, who has no experience of filing a lawsuit, the process can be overwhelming. Working with a known law firm, such as King Law, can benefit your case immensely. For many people, the biggest concern is the cost involved in hiring a personal injury attorney. In this post, we are sharing more on how you can afford a lawyer.
Personal injury attorneys charge differently
Typically, other lawyers, such as divorce attorneys and criminal lawyers, charge an hourly rate. For selected cases, they may even ask for a flat fee, which depends on the work involved. However, that’s not the standard practice for personal injury lawyers. Following an accident, a victim is already dealing with huge financial losses and medical bills. They may not have the money and resources to pay high hourly fees of a top attorney. That’s where contingency fee comes in the picture.
The contingency fee
Most personal injury attorneys in NY work on a contingency fee. This doesn’t mean ‘no fee’. Beware of lawyers who claim that it doesn’t cost anything to hire them. In case of contingency fee, the lawyer will charge a part of the settlement as their fee. If they don’t recover anything for you, they don’t get paid. The first meeting with a personal injury lawyer is typically free, and the attorney will do their share of investigation, before deciding if they want to handle the case. If they agree to take up the case, the contingency fee would be decided, ideally not exceeding 40% of the final settlement. This is more like a pay-for-performance system, and it works big time for victims and those dealing with losses after an unexpected accident.
Things to note
There could be other expenses related to a personal injury lawsuit, such as cost of investigation, litigation, traveling expense of the lawyer, and so on. Make sure that you ask your lawyer if they can advance these costs on your behalf. If not, you may have to arrange that money.
Hire a personal injury attorney in NY soon after your accident.