It is perhaps one of the most important questions in the mind of an accident victim, how will I be able to afford a lawyer to help me?
For most personal injury cases, it appears to be common practice among law firms to charge a “contingency fee”, but what does this mean? What follows is meant to provide a brief explanation of the contingency fee arrangement, and to answer some common questions regarding how your personal injury lawyer will be paid.
What is a Contingency Fee?
A contingency fee agreement simply refers to an arrangement between you and your lawyer, whereby your lawyer’s fees are deducted from the final settlement or judgment in your case, rather than collected up-front through a “retainer” or charged and “paid-as-you-go”. At Himelfarb Proszanski we offer contingency fee arrangements for eligible personal injury cases, which means that accident victims will not have to carry the burden of funding litigation to get the compensation they are entitled to.
Himelfarb Proszanski’s contingency fee arrangement means that we do not charge you for our fees until after you obtain a settlement or judgment in your case.
What are Disbursements?
The term “disbursement” is used to describe expenses that are incurred and paid by your lawyer “out-of-pocket” on your behalf. Common disbursements in a personal injury case may include court fees, the cost of obtaining medical records, the fee for obtaining expert reports, as well as things like printing and copying charges.
Disbursements can add up very quickly and become a major cost in a personal injury case, particularly since personal injury cases often require expert medical reports to establish evidence. For instance, where a claimant has a serious injury that is likely to have long-term consequences, an expert report will be required to assess the present injuries as well as future injuries. Such expert reports allow for a better understanding of the damages that can be claimed, but are also usually quite expensive to obtain.
At Himelfarb Proszanski, in addition to delaying collection of lawyer fees until the final settlement or judgment, our contingency fee agreement sets out that the firm will cover expenses that an accident victim would otherwise be obliged to cover on their own, as disbursements which will be deducted from the final settlement or judgment. This means that accident victims do not have to pay legal fees up-front, nor carry the burden of funding the other expenses involved in litigation, allowing 100 percent of their focus to remain on their health and getting well.
How are Legal Fees Calculated within a Contingency Agreement?
We know that lawyer fees are paid through the final settlement or judgment of a personal injury case, but how is that fee calculated?
At Himelfarb Proszanski, our contingency fee is calculated based on a percentage of the final settlement amount, or judgment award if the case goes to trial. The numerical percentage is derived from a number of factors including the following:
- The likelihood of success;
- The nature and complexity of the claim;
- The expense and risk of pursuing the claim;
- The amount of the expected recovery; and
- The stage in the litigation if settlement is reached.
The above factors are considered when setting contingency fee percentages to ensure that our clients are never charged more than the work that was put in to get them the compensation for their injuries. For more information on our contingency fee arrangements and legal fees we invite you to contact us for a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer.
