A lot of car accident victims consider taking legal action against those who caused them harm. Yet, many of them end up foregoing a lawsuit out of fear that the cost of legal representation will devastate their finances and that they won’t be able to afford an attorney while they wait for their personal injury case to play out.
That’s understandable given the perception in society that attorneys are expensive to acquire, but don’t let this fear paralyze you into inaction in your time of need. Instead, take comfort knowing that many personal injury attorneys work on an affordable contingency fee basis.
What is a contingency fee?
A contingency fee means that your attorney will only get paid if they win your case. This means that there’s no upfront cost to acquire legal representation, and you won’t pay anything if you don’t win on your claim. And if you do succeed in your personal injury case, then your attorney is only paid a pre-determined percentage of your recovery, meaning that you’ll walk away without having attorney fees hanging over your head.
How a contingency fee benefits you
There are several advantages to a contingency fee arrangement. This includes:
- Your attorney is motivated to win: Since your attorney will only get paid if they recover compensation for you, they’ll be motivated to not only win your case, but also to recover as much compensation for you as possible. Your success is their success, so you should take comfort knowing that your attorney will fight for you case like it’s their own.
- Risk is eliminated: Since you only pay if you win your case, and any payment you make is only a portion of your ultimate recovery, there’s hardly any risk to meeting with a contingency fee-based attorney to determine if legal action is right for you.
- You can gauge the strength of your case: With a contingency fee arrangement, you’ll know if an attorney thinks that your case will result in some sort of compensatory recovery, as they’re less likely to take the case if they don’t think they can win. This could give you peace of mind heading into the process.
How will your personal injury case be built?
Given that an attorney who works on a contingency fee basis will only get paid if they win your case, they may devote more time to securing the evidence necessary to win your case. As needed, they’ll talk to witnesses, analyze police and accident reconstruction reports, review your medical records, assess relevant case law, and secure expert testimony. This diligence will hopefully put you in a strong position where you can decide whether to negotiate and settle your case, thereby leading to quick resolution, or take your case to trial where you can advocate for compensation that fully covers your damages.
Do you want to learn more about how to build your personal injury case?
Deciding whether you want an attorney on your side and, if so, how you want to pay them is just a part of the personal injury legal process. There are a lot of other moving pieces that have to be addressed if you want to succeed on your claim.
That’s why we encourage you to read up on what it takes to build a successful claim so that you know what to expect from the process and what you can do to give yourself an edge heading into your case.