Thousands of Americans suffer preventable injuries every year. Even with personal injury laws allowing them to recover compensation for damages suffered, not all of them get justice. There is always an opportunity to settle such cases out of court with insurance companies, but unfortunately, not all claims are settled here. Whether you decide to sue or settle, you need a knowledgeable attorney with experience and a winning track record.
Hiring a legal team for personal injury lawsuits is not overly difficult. Even so, some victims associate retaining an attorney with huge expenses. The greatest impediment to working with personal injury lawyers is the belief that one needs to pay upfront legal fees before their case can start. The fear that one will run bankrupt and have nothing to cover day-to-day expenses makes many victims give up on their rights. Regardless, nothing could be further from the truth.
In most scenarios, you don’t have to finance your case or pay your attorney until a monetary recovery is made. Understanding how payment for a Houston personal injury attorney works is the first step toward knowing your rights and what is in store for you if you decide to retain a legal team for your case.
Consultations Are Free
Many personal injury cases begin with the injured victim looking around for the best personal injury attorney. This means discussing your claim at length without having to worry about consultation fees adding up. Because personal injury cases are very sensitive, you must retain a team you can trust. Free consultations allow you to know your attorney better, and understand how he or she is going to handle your case.
Our Houston personal injury attorneys care about your comfort while discussing your claim. We understand the impact that our close ties and relationships with our clients have on the success of the cases we handle. By working as a team, we share a common goal, which is maximum compensation. To achieve this, we leave nothing to chance. We allow you the time to focus on treatment which is crucial in a personal injury lawsuit, while we work on serving notice and negotiating a fair settlement on your behalf.
How Contingency Fee Policy Works
When an attorney takes up your case, they must be paid. Some ask for upfront payments even before they start working on the claim. Such an arrangement is the last thing you want when you are already fighting to remain afloat financially. When you choose our Houston personal injury attorneys, you can rest assured that no attorney’s fees will be collected unless we win compensation on your behalf. This is what our contingency fee policy provides for.
The contingency fee policy allows our Houston personal injury attorneys to handle cases without collecting legal fees until a monetary recovery in the form of settlement is made. It’s only then that we retain an agreed percentage of the final award. With this arrangement, you don’t get surprised by hidden charges or unexplained fees. This predetermined percentage will be lesser if your case settles out of court compared to when a trial is reached.
Also, the type of claim you bring forward will determine the percentage to be retained by your attorney. For instance, there are laws governing how much an attorney can withhold as legal fees in lawsuits. The contingency fee policy is further categorized into three major arrangements depending on your financial abilities:
Hourly Rates
Here, your injury attorney charges you depending on the amount of time worked on your case. An hourly rate is agreed upon before your case starts. Oftentimes, this arrangement requires upfront payments.
Sliding Scale Contingency
Your attorney retains a flat payment but still gets additional payment as your case progresses and if they win. Again, this may not be ideal since compensation is not guaranteed.
Mixed Hourly
In this arrangement, your attorney gets paid in two methods. One, he or she receives payment at a reduced hourly rate but gets additional payment if they successfully recover compensation.
Regardless of the payment model you choose, nobody should push you into accepting payment structures you are not comfortable with. That said, a good attorney will always collect legal fees if a settlement is reached, and not prior.
Call Us Today to Discuss Payment Models for Our Houston Injury Attorneys
Our personal injury attorneys at Lone Star Injury Attorneys understand what a tight position you may be in following an accident. We are happy to take up your case for free, and will only collect attorney’s fees if compensation is recovered. Call us today to discuss your case for free and learn more about how payment for a Houston personal injury attorney works.
Call or text (832) 346-9585 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
