Personal Injury Attorneys: Contingency Fee Contracts

Personal injury attorneys normally take your case on contingency fee basis.  This means that you do not pay anything up front to have the lawyer handle your case.  The personal injury attorney will initially pay the costs of litigation out of his pocket.  These include, filing fees, investigators and experts witnesses.  When the case is won or settled, the injury attorney will get his costs back plus a percentage of the proceeds that are left.  If you lose, the attorney (and you) get nothing.

Contingency fees will vary between 33% to 45% net proceeds.  The amount of the fees will depend upon whether the case is settled, tried, appealed or if it is extremely costly or complex to litigate.  If you feel that the contingency fee is too high, talk to another personal injury lawyers.  When it comes to choosing a personal injury attorney, the contingency fee should be less of a concern than the attorney’s expertise and experience.

Your agreement should always be in writing and signed by both you and the attorney. Read it carefully and ask the lawyer to explain any part of it that you do not understand.

All of the blanks in the contract should be should be completely filled out. Make sure you are given a copy of the agreement for your own records.

Contingency fees are a unique and fortunate part of the legal landscape in the United States.  Unlike other countries, the contingency fee contract places the best personal injury attorneys within rich of all citizens regardless of social or financial status.