Personal injury cases are often accepted by lawyers on a "contingency fee" basis. This simply means all your legal costs, including lawyer’s fees, will be deducted from the final settlement or damage award that you receive from a favorable outcome. In most contingency fee agreements, the lawyer gets between 33 and 40 percent, but this is always negotiable. If you don’t receive any money, you don’t pay the lawyer anything. You can get the services of the car accident attorney White Plains NY by clicking here.
In most cases, there will be a fee agreement, also known as a “sliding scale,” wherein the contingency fee percentage that the lawyer receives will depend on the stage at which the case concludes. Let’s say your attorney sends a demand letter to the other party. They make a counteroffer, negotiations ensue, and both sides come to a fair settlement. That means the case has been resolved before it reaches the court. In this scenario, the lawyer’s fee percentage could be around the standard 33 percent.
However, if the case does end up in court, your lawyer will usually demand a higher percentage - around 40 percent - of the settlement. And if there will be a trial, this amount can even go higher. Before you decline a pre-suit settlement offer, note that your costs will increase as your case progresses.
The New York Injury Lawyers usually pay for costs and expenses as they come in and then remove these from the total amount of settlement or court award. These costs and expenses can cover expert witness fees, filing fees, trial exhibits, medical records and so on. It is important to note that these can sum up to a considerable amount, especially if settlement occurs in the latter part (close to trial). Because of the mounting costs, the lawyer’s may end up receiving up to 45% to 60% of the total settlement or court award.
It is usual for the lawyer to receive the settlement check. Otherwise, since a lot of personal injury attorneys only accept contingency cases, they may not get paid. They will inform you when they have received the check and give you a list of all the costs to be deducted, from their fees to miscellaneous expenses. You can dispute this list, and while an agreement is yet to be reached, the contested amount will be placed in a trust account.
It is crucial to ensure that all these details are agreed upon before you proceed with a particular lawyer. Any questions you have should be answered before committing your case to the attorney. For more information, click on this link: https://www.britannica.com/topic/lawyer.
