If you were injured in an accident that was someone else’s fault, you may be dealing with painful injuries and uncertainty about the future. With the unexpected costs of medical bills and the loss of income, you may be concerned about whether you can afford to hire a lawyer to help protect your legal rights. A contingency fee lawyer works at no upfront cost to you, letting you focus on your healing while an experienced attorney handles your legal paperwork, files your claims, and talks to insurance companies on your behalf.
A contingency fee lawyer in Long Island from TonaLaw can discuss your situation during a free, no-obligation consultation. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Types of Attorney Fee Structures
Lawyers charge for their fees differently. One of the most common fee structures is hourly. Under this fee arrangement, a lawyer charges a set rate per hour and bills the client. For example, if they spent 20 hours on your case at $500 per hour, they would charge $10,000 for their work.
Some lawyers require a large upfront down payment, often referred to as a retainer. Before the lawyer begins work on the case, they require the client to pay a large upfront fee, which can be difficult for many people, especially when they weren’t anticipating the need for legal services.
Some attorneys charge a flat fee, meaning they charge the same amount for routine legal services, such as document preparation or uncontested divorce cases. This fee structure is more common when a lawyer can estimate the time required to complete legal work they have experience with.
Contingency fees are common in personal injury and workers’ compensation cases. With these fee arrangements, the fees are percentage-based recovery fees.
Some attorneys use a hybrid fee arrangement, combining models such as a reduced hourly rate with a smaller contingency fee or a retainer that transitions to an hourly rate once the retainer is exhausted.
What Is a Contingency Fee?
A contingency fee is a fee that is conditioned on the outcome of the case. It is common in personal injury cases. With a contingency fee arrangement, your lawyer agrees to represent you in exchange for a percentage of the compensation they recover on your behalf, whether through an insurance settlement or a verdict at court. If there is no financial recovery, you do not pay attorney fees.
How Does a Contingency Fee Work?
Let’s say that you were injured in a car accident. Your personal injury lawyer in New York obtains a settlement of $100,000. You have agreed to a one-third rate for your attorney. This means they will receive $33,333 of the proceeds they secured on your behalf. You would receive the remainder, less any legal costs and outstanding liens.
If your injury lawyer was not able to secure any compensation for you, they would not charge you any money for their work and services. You may still be responsible for legal costs, depending on the language in the contingency fee agreement.
How Is the Contingency Fee Percentage Determined?
Contingency fee percentages can vary widely from one lawyer to another. Lawyer fees are regulated by the Rules of Professional Conduct. Under these rules, the attorney’s fee cannot be excessive or illegal. Factors that are considered in evaluating the reasonableness of a lawyer’s fee include the following:
- The time and labor required for the case
- The novelty and difficulty of the legal questions involved
- The skill required to properly perform the legal services
- The likelihood that the acceptance of the case will prevent the lawyer from taking other cases, if the client knows this or is told this
- The fee customarily charged in the area for similar legal services
- The amount involved and the results the lawyer obtains
- The time limitations imposed by the client or the circumstances
- The nature and length of the professional relationship between the lawyer and client
- The lawyer’s experience, reputation, and ability
- Whether the fee is fixed or contingent
According to the American Bar Association, typical contingency-fee rates range from 33.33% to 40%. New York has additional rules regarding maximum fees, providing a schedule of the percentage a lawyer may charge based on the amount of compensation recovered, or limiting the percentage to one-third. The specific percentage is agreed upon by you and your lawyer and outlined in your written contingency-fee agreement.
Benefits of Contingency Fee Arrangements
Injury victims across Long Island, including Hempstead, Brookhaven, Islip, Huntington, and Oyster Bay, often work with contingency fee lawyers so they can pursue justice without financial risk. At TonaLaw, we represent injured clients throughout Nassau County and Suffolk County on a contingency basis.
Personal injury victims stand to benefit from contingency fee arrangements in many ways, including the following:
No Upfront Fees
One of the major advantages of contingency fees is that you don’t have to pay for your attorney fees upfront. You don’t have to invest your own money or resources into seeking the justice you deserve.
Immediate Legal Assistance
Another advantage of contingency-fee arrangements is that you lock in legal services now while you need them, but you don’t have to pay for them until you can afford them, after you are due settlement proceeds or a court award.
Less Risk
Personal injury lawyers are the ones who risk investing their time and resources into the case without a guarantee that they will be paid for them. If you pay an hourly rate for a lawyer, you will be out that money, regardless of the outcome. By agreeing to a contingency-fee arrangement, you are protecting your own resources if your case is unsuccessful. Because any percentage times zero is zero.
Honest Case Assessment
Because attorneys take on the risk of investing significant time in a case, they will be unlikely to promise you results that they don’t feel they can achieve. They will want to see clear evidence of negligence and a reasonable pathway for financial recovery. Our experienced lawyers can review your particular situation and give you an honest assessment of its merits and whether you need our help.
Legal Cases We Take on Contingency
At TonaLaw, we focus exclusively on personal injury cases. We handle all of these cases on contingency, including:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bus accidents
- Drunk driving accidents
- Hit and run accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Boat accidents
- Scooter accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Drunk driving accidents
- Premises liability accidents
- Dog bites
- Slip and fall accidents
- Bar & nightclub accidents
- Negligent security
- Construction accidents
- Catastrophic injury cases
- Wrongful death claims
- Medical malpractice
- View all practice areas
Our contingency fee structure applies to all of our injury cases, including car accidents, truck accidents, slip and fall injuries, and wrongful death claims on Long Island. If you’d like to learn whether we can handle your case and how our contingency fee works, contact us today for a free case review.
Legal Costs
In addition to paying for the attorney’s services, you will also be responsible for paying for the legal costs that are associated with pursuing a personal injury claim, such as:
- Copy fees
- Medical record fees
- Accident report retrieval fees
- Investigation costs
- Court costs
- Postage
- Deposition fees
- Court reporter fees
- Expert witness fees
- Travel expenses
In some situations, the lawyer pays these fees upfront and then seeks reimbursement for them. In other cases, the client may have to pay these costs out of pocket. Clients may still owe for these costs even if the case was not successful.
Additionally, when these costs are factored in can affect the overall cost of legal representation. For example, some attorneys deduct legal costs before calculating their contingency percentage, while others calculate the fee first and then deduct legal costs. For example, if your attorney secured a $100,000 settlement, they charged a one-third fee, and you had $5,000 in legal costs, your attorney’s fee would be $31,663 or $33,333 in this example, depending on whether the one-third fee includes or does not include the legal costs. Ask your lawyer questions about how these costs are handled, whether you will be responsible for them if your case is not successful, and whether they are deducted before or after the fee to avoid surprise billing.
Why the Insurance Company May Try to Persuade You Not to Hire a Lawyer
Some insurance adjusters may go so far as to tell claimants that they don’t need a lawyer. They may try to claim that the lawyer will just take money from their pocket, and they will get less in the long run. However, the facts don’t support this.
Consistently, claimants receive higher settlements and awards when they have quality legal representation than when they try to represent themselves.
When an insurance company representative tries to convince you not to hire a lawyer, you should be alarmed. Insurance adjusters represent their employers’ interests, not yours. When they say that you don’t need a lawyer, it’s because they know lawyers have a firm understanding of the value of claims and will fight for what you deserve. Insurance companies are worried about losing money and will do what they can to convince you not to hire a lawyer.
Keep in mind that insurance companies are for-profit entities that have considerable resources and experienced teams that represent their best interests. Insurers try to take advantage of claimants’ lack of legal knowledge and their vulnerable state.
Contact Our Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Case Evaluation
If you were injured in an accident that was someone else’s fault, you shouldn’t have to worry about how to pay for legal representation. An experienced attorney from TonaLaw can evaluate your situation, answer your questions, explain our fee structure, and provide you with a tailored legal strategy. Contact us today to arrange a free consultation.
