If you have been involved in an accident in Pearland, retaining an experienced attorney is the best decision you can make for the success of your case. Given their experience in litigating similar cases, your lawyer will maximize your chances of getting full justice for your injuries.
Whenever an attorney is mentioned, some victims tend to turn down the idea of having a lawyer work on their case, simply because they’re afraid of accumulating huge legal costs. Fortunately, not all personal injury attorneys charge you money upfront to represent your injury claim. At Lone Star Injury Attorneys, we understand that spending money to seek justice may be the last thing in your mind. For this reason, we give you the option to focus on your medical needs, while we work on your case for no upfront cost to you. Furthermore, we give you the freedom to choose a fee arrangement that works best for you.
Here’s what you may need to know about how payment for a Pearland personal injury attorney works.
Any personal injury case will begin with consultations between the victim (the plaintiff) and their attorney. A free consultation allows you to look around, talk, and exchange important information about your legal claim before spending any money. Given that accident claims often take a lot of time to play out, you must retain an attorney you can trust.
The free consultation gives you a window through which you can evaluate several attorneys before hiring one. Some injury victims switch attorney in the middle of their injury case, but this process can be a bit complicated depending on the law firms involved. To avoid this, always choose a seasoned, trustworthy, and dedicated attorney from the start.
All lawyers offer legal services at a fee. However, our injury attorneys in Pearland work on a contingency fee basis. In other words, your lawyer will only receive attorneys fees based on a percentage of the overall settlement. If you receive a settlement or judgment at trial in your favor, your attorney retains a percentage of the total amount as their legal fees. This percentage varies from case to case, but you should discuss it with your legal counsel and read the retainer agreement before signing.
Normally, contingency fees range depending on the amount of work involved in your case. Depending on your claim, your attorney will only receive a predetermined percentage. If your case is able to be resolved without the need for filing in the court, the attorney will receive a smaller percentage of the total. However, if your case needs to be filed and litigated, possibly to a trial, the percentage will be higher.
Attorneys fees may also vary depending on the type of case. For example, if you’re filing a medical malpractice claim, your settlement may be limited by several caps that govern the maximum amount plaintiffs may receive in such a claim. This may, in turn, affect the amount your lawyer retains.
And while a contingency fee basis is the widely accepted and popular mode of payment for accident, there may be other options available for you. Based on your financial ability, and what you and your lawyer agree to do, you may your preferred payment method between hourly rates, mixed hourly rates, and a sliding scale contingency fee.
Here, your lawyer charges you based on the hours spent working on your case. You may both agree on an hourly rate or even a flat rate before embarking on filing your injury claim. In most cases, this payment is done out-of-pocket, meaning that you must be financially capable of footing all legal fees regardless of the outcome of your case
In this situation, your Pearland personal injury attorney gets paid through two methods. One, he or she charges you a reduced hourly rate as we mentioned above in the hourly rate payment method. Additionally, he or she retains a certain percentage of the settlement awarded if you win the case.
The sliding scale contingency fee option allows your lawyer to retain a basic fee, but also gets additional payment if he or she wins the case. Remember, the mode of payment is dependent on your choices, and no attorney should force you to work with a predetermined option.
At Lone Star Injury Attorneys, we understand the financial implications of suffering harm in an accident. For this reason, we seek to help you divert all your finances to seeking treatment by working on your case on a contingency fee basis that works with your needs. Reach out to us today to learn more about how payment works for a Pearland personal injury attorney.
