- February 15, 2020
- Personal Injury
If you have suffered a personal injury, you may be entitled to compensatory damages. Legally, if another person or entity has caused the injury, you can hold them responsible for the losses incurred due to the injury. If the injury was caused in a car crash, for instance, you can seek for damages to cover your medical costs of treatment, damage to your property, lost wages, as well as pain and suffering damages. However, you will need the services of a qualified Greenwood personal injury lawyer to improve your odds of receiving damages even though you would have to pay your personal injury attorney.
Typically, personal injury damages are recovered from an insurer. Insurance companies have panels of highly paid lawyers who would try to underpay you. If you go at a personal injury claim alone, you may receive a small amount of damages. Worse still, your claim may be downright rejected.
This is where a qualified attorney on your side will be critically important. Most people believe that personal injury lawyers cost a fortune. This may deter you from seeking a lawyer after sustaining an injury. The good news is that, this is not the case. Many personal injury lawyers work with something known as a contingency fee arrangement.
What Is a Contingency Fee Arrangement?
A contingency fee arrangement is where you don’t pay any out-of-pocket expenses. A lawyer agrees to represent you in a personal injury claim in return for a share of the damages. So you don’t have to pay anything right away. Instead, you have to pay your personal injury attorney only if and once you receive the damages.
The actual legal fees in personal injury cases are typically a percentage of the damages. For instance, if you agree to pay your lawyer 20% in contingency fees and ultimately receive $10,000 in damages, your lawyer’s fee is $2,000.
How Does a Contingency Fee Arrangement Benefit You?
A contingency fee arrangement works to your benefit. As a claimant, you are understandably in financial stress already. A personal injury may bring up unexpected medical costs for medical care and treatment. You may have to dish out money on doctor’s bills, diagnostic tests, prescription medicine, rehabilitation and therapy. If you were injured in a car crash, your car may also have sustained damage necessitating expensive repairs. All of this can add up quickly, leaving you financially stranded. In the middle of all this, it can be hard to spare any money for legal representation.
Thankfully, a contingency fee arrangement works to your advantage in this situation. For a start, you don’t have to pay any fee upfront. You also don’t have to pay anything if your claim is rejected. You pay the legal fees only if the claim is successful and you receive damages.
This also makes sure that your lawyer puts in every bit of effort to make sure your claim is successful. After all, the lawyer will get paid only if you win the claim.
How Much Do I Pay My Lawyer?
The actual fee you pay in a contingency arrangement depends on a number of factors. These include the clarity of negligence, the probability of your claim’s success, the expected duration of the claim and more. A Greenwood SC personal injury lawyer may charge you a lower fee, for instance, for a case where negligence of another party is clear. In contrast, the lawyer will charge you more if negligence is harder to prove.
Similarly, a complicated personal injury case involving multiple parties may take longer to resolve. This means more court costs and related expenses. A lawyer may propose a higher percentage when taking on such a case.
In general, contingency fees run between 25% and 35% of the amount of damages. If you have better odds, you can negotiate for lower legal fees. On the other hand, if the claim is harder to prove, the attorney may push for higher legal fees.
Finding a Personal Injury Attorney in Greenwood SC
When you are looking for legal representation in a personal injury claim, it is important to make the right choice. A good attorney will ideally known the state personal injury laws perfectly, understand the local insurance landscape and be acquainted with the courts, judges and court procedures. In short, you want a lawyer who specializes in this area with extensive expertise.
Here at ASB Law, our personal injury attorneys in Greenwood SC meet these requirements. This is why we have been able to help a large number of clients recover a fair compensation for their losses. Contact us today to book a FREE consultation with our attorneys. Discuss your case in a one-on-one meeting before making the final hire.
