California car accident lawyers usually work on a contingency basis and only get paid if your case is successful. If a lawyer wins your case for you, the attorney receives a “success fee” taken out of the settlement money you received. This fee is usually around a third of your settlement award.
How Does Case Success Affect a Car Accident Lawyer’s Contingency Fee?
When you sign a contingency fee agreement with a car accident lawyer, you agree to certain terms determining when lawyers get paid, how they get paid, and how much.
Under the standard contingency agreement, injured car crash victims don’t have to pay any upfront money to hire a lawyer. In fact, the attorney receives nothing if the case is lost.
If the case is a success, victims still don’t have to pay out anything from their own savings or income. The lawyer’s fee, which is usually around 33%, is taken from the settlement money or court judgment the victim is awarded. Lawyers are paid for their services and, in some cases, reimbursed for some investigative costs and court fees.
Then the victim receives the rest of a hopefully substantial settlement to cover all medical bills now and in the future. The victim’s lost income while having to miss work with an injury should also be reimbursed. A settlement check should also include compensation for the physical pain and emotional trauma traffic accident victims go through.
Visit our page that explains further how much a California car accident lawyer gets paid.
Understand Your Lawyer’s Success Fee
A lawyer’s fee after a car accident case victory should never come as a surprise to you. Your potential lawyer should go over this important detail and make it absolutely clear before you sign on to accept representation.
These are a few tips to make sure you are with the right law firm and understand how they’ll get paid:
- Ask questions if you aren’t sure how your lawyer gets paid
- Make sure your lawyer clearly goes over the contingency fee and how it will work
- Be absolutely sure you understand how much the lawyer will make if the case is won
- If lawyers aren’t open with you about how much they’ll receive, it may be time to consider a different law firm
- Make sure the lawyer works under a contingency agreement and doesn’t seek to be paid hourly
- For most car accident claims, only hire a lawyer who will work on a contingency basis
If a lawyer won’t accept a car accident case on a contingency basis it could be a red flag. Lawyers should accept cases if they think they can help victims earn more in support.
If they don’t think they can increase the size of a settlement check, they should be honest with potential clients. In these cases, clients may be better off representing themselves so they don’t have to share the settlement with a lawyer who didn’t maximize the compensation they received.
When Do I Need The Help of a California Car Accident Lawyer?
If your car accident involves car damage and only very minor injuries, you may not need the help of a lawyer for your case. Getting car repairs reimbursed has become a standard process that lawyers usually can’t improve upon.
However, if your accident involves a more serious injury like a broken ankle or brain injury, a lawyer can often win you much more than you would have won for yourself. When hospital bills grow, insurance companies seek ways to question your claim and who should be blamed for the accident. Your lawyer serves as a protection against this shady attempt to deny support to victims. Your lawyer also demands the most compensation for the injury possible on your behalf.
Contact Maison Law for a free, no-obligation consultation. It’s a no-risk way to find out what your injury is worth and what you should be holding an insurance company to. If we can’t help improve the outcome of your case, we’ll tell you that and explain how to handle the case yourself. If you do feel we can help you earn more for your injury, there’s no need to worry about having the money to hire us. We work under a contingency agreement and don’t get paid unless we win your case.
