What Does Contingency Fee Mean?

When dealing with a personal injury case, there can be additional stress when it comes to locating the means to pay your attorney. You may be dealing with hospital bills, missing work, and other costly consequences as a result of the incident that left you injured. However, money should not be an issue when it comes to seeking the right legal representation. Many personal injury attorneys collect charges for their services in various ways, such as hourly fees, fixed rates, and contingency fees. Any payment agreements must be set in writing, for the protection of both the client and legal attorney. 

Accident victims and other injured persons may still be dealing with the aftermath of a devastating incident, so allocating funds for legal representation may be nearly impossible. Luckily, many San Diego personal injury lawyers charge on the basis of contingency fees for their services. A contingency fee can be a reasonable payment arrangement to ensure you have legal representation for a personal injury claim without having to pay completely out of pocket. 

What is a Contingency Fee? 

Contingency fees have become a preferred choice of payment for many attorneys. This form of payment can also benefit victims of accidents and other incidents as well. In a contingency fee agreement, the client agrees to pay the attorney representing them a percentage of the money that the attorney collects on their behalf. 

Contingency fees depend on the outcome of the case, and whether the attorney can successfully recover the money owed for their client’s injuries. A contingency fee can also be helpful for victims of accidents and other injuries, as they do not have to pay for services beforehand out of their own pocket.  

How do Contingency Fees Work? 

How exactly do contingency fees work in your case? After meeting with a San Diego personal injury attorney and agreeing to this payment arrangement, the attorney will get to work on building your case for the court. There will be no money paid upfront on your part. Instead, the personal injury attorney you work with will obtain all the fees that come with the case, such as court fees and other costs. After successfully winning a case, the personal injury attorney will then collect their contingency fee from your winnings. 

What happens if your personal injury case does not conclude in your favor? If this occurs, the personal injury attorney will not receive payment for their services, and you will not owe them money either. 

What Kind of Cases Do Contingency Fees Cover? 

When it comes to the types of cases that contingency fees cover, this can include a variety. Some of the typical cases that work on a basis of contingency fees include: 

• Car accidents
• Truck accidents
• Slip and fall claims
• Workplace accidents
• Dog bite incidents and other animal attacks
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents

How Do Attorneys Set Their Contingency Fees? 

There can be many different components that ultimately drive how attorneys set their contingency fees. For example, a contingency fee agreement could contain a clause that states an attorney’s contingency fee will be lower if the case reaches a settlement before going to trial. This means the case will require less of the attorney’s time than if the case went to trial. 

Some of the factors that come into play when personal injury lawyers set their contingency fees include: 

• The attorney’s education and skill
• The geographical location of the attorney’s office
• The attorney’s experience and additional certifications
• The attorney’s success rate in court
• The anticipated time-length of the case
• Contingency fees charged by other attorneys for similar cases

Every case is unique, so there will never be a one-size-fits-all formula when it comes to guessing an attorney’s contingency fees. There may be very complex cases that can take a lot of time, skill, and resources to reach a settlement. It is important to talk to the lawyer taking on your case so you can be well aware of the components that go into the contingency fee for your specific claim. 

Costs and Expenses for a Personal Injury Case

Though every personal injury case is different, there are some expenses that are common in most. These costs and expenses may be covered upfront by an attorney and taken out from a contingency fee, while other lawyers may deduct the costs before the contingency fee. It can be different for each attorney, but you must be aware of the fee structure and how expenses will be deducted from your possible claim amount. This can make a big difference in your net proceeds after all.  

Some of the most common expenses in a personal injury include: 

• Court filing fees
• Copies and postage costs
• Deposition and court reporter fees
• Investigation costs
• Expert witness fees 
• Cost of obtaining copies of accident reports, medical records, and other documents

A personal injury case can wrack up a lot of expenses, which is why working on a contingency fee basis can benefit many clients filing their claims. The most important thing is to sit down with your lawyer and be very aware of the details behind your fee arrangement. You’ll want to make sure to be clear on how these case costs will be covered, as well as check whether a possible loss of the claim would require you to pay for any of the expenses from the case. 

What Else Should I Know About Contingency Fees? 

When hiring a San Diego personal injury lawyer for your case, the matter of contingency fees will come up in no time. Here are a few final things to keep in mind about contingency fees: 

• Always talk to your lawyer about possible case expenses and whether they will be included in the contingency fee or will be charged separately. You do not want to be blindsided by any fees that you were unsure of.  
• Be very knowledgeable about the contingency fee of the personal injury lawyer you’re working with. And most importantly, be in agreement with this fee. You should be at ease with the settlement for your case, especially if you have your own hospital fees and other costs to cover while in recovery. 
• In order to feel more confident about the contingency fee agreement for your case, you will want to work with a personal injury lawyer who has years of experience. Make sure to trust your case in the hands of a personal injury attorney who has plenty of expertise in the field, especially in dealing with cases similar to yours. 

Contingency fees are a typical payment arrangement between personal injury lawyers and their clients. It can leave clients to navigate their cases without the stress of paying for legal services, and it can still compensate attorneys for their time and resources. While looking for a personal injury attorney for your case, be sure to sit down for an initial consultation and get an idea of what personal injury lawyer may be right for you. After discussing contingency fees and other facts about your claim, you will be able to work with a trustworthy expert attorney who will be able to represent your case to the best of their abilities!