What Does It Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

November 22, 2024

The services of a personal injury lawyer are crucial to injury victims in need of proper compensation. Without one, the injured person is likely to get much less money than they could have. The question many have is, “What does it cost to hire a personal injury lawyer?” The answer is that it depends on your case. However, whatever the cost, personal injury lawyers prove to be worth every penny by recovering far more money than an individual can recover on their own.

Have you been injured by someone else? If so, we are ready to help get you properly compensated. Call (215) 569-0900 to schedule a free consultation and get answers about your case. 

Why Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Hiring a personal injury lawyer is a crucial step toward getting adequate compensation after a personal injury, especially after a serious injury. Without an experienced lawyer, the insurance company handling the compensation will pretty much be in charge and will make an offer that is far lower than it should be.

Personal injury lawyers know how to compel insurance companies to pay proper damages. First, they carefully evaluate and calculate the damages involved. Next, they use the law and their experience to hold insurance companies accountable for what they owe.

What Does It Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

The cost of hiring a personal injury lawyer varies from case to case. Each case brings unique details that ultimately influence the attorney’s fees. However, the method of pricing is typically the same. Attorneys use various forms of billing. However, one — contingency fee billing — is the most prevalent.

Contingency Fee

A contingency fee is calculated as a percentage of a monetary sum. In personal injury cases, it is a percentage of the compensation awarded to the client. Lawyers take a percentage of that final compensation to cover their fees.

The percentage a lawyer charges can vary from case to case. The typical range is 33% to 40%. The more complex the case, the more lawyers will charge. Additionally, cases that take significantly more time lead to higher contingency fee percentages.

As an example, consider a victim of an injury who is initially offered $50,000 by the insurance company. The victim then hires an attorney who recovers $200,000 in economic and non-economic damages for them. If the attorney’s fee is calculated at 33% of the settlement, the client will pay the attorney $66,000.

In a more complicated case where the fee is 40%, damages would likely be higher. A higher percentage means the case has passed negotiations and may be in trial or headed to trial for a higher compensation payout.

In either of the above situations, the attorney’s service typically brings in far more money for their client than their client could recover without them, thus justifying their fee.

As mentioned, contingency fee billing is the most common type of billing in personal injury cases, and understandably so. It has numerous advantages for clients, including:

• No upfront payments
• No out-of-pocket payments (fee comes from compensation)
• No fee if the attorney does not recover compensation for the client.

Requiring no upfront payments truly benefits victims. It allows those with fewer resources to seek justice and compensation when their finances would otherwise prevent them from doing so.

Other Types of Billing

In rare cases, personal injury lawyers may charge by the hour. However, the majority of them use contingency fee billing. Hourly rates are for special situations that are not characteristic of normal personal injury cases. In even rarer cases, a flat fee may be charged.

Costs

Apart from the lawyer’s fee, personal injury claims and lawsuits involve various other costs. These costs are the responsibility of the plaintiff and typically include:

• Filing fees
• Copying, printing, and mailing costs
• Fees for expert witnesses
• Travel and research costs
• Investigation costs.

These costs cover tasks essential to all personal injury actions. Fortunately for clients, attorneys advance these costs until the end of the case. If the attorney loses, the client does not have to pay these costs. In other words, when an attorney takes a case, they believe they will recoup at least these costs.

Injury victims have put their trust in the personal injury lawyers at Wapner Newman for decades.

Factors That Affect Costs and Fees

Various factors affect costs and attorney’s fees. In more complex cases, costs tend to be higher, and the contingency percentage rises the longer a case takes.

Complex Issues

Some personal injury cases involve simple facts and are easily settled within short time frames. Many, however, involve complex matters that require special resources, time, and in-depth legal experience. These all, of course, cost more money.

Medical malpractice cases, for example, take more time to resolve than car accident crashes in most cases. Some car accident crashes involve complexities that require significant resources and time. But for the most part, medical malpractice cases tend to be among the most complex of all personal injury claims.

Special costs associated with medical malpractice claims include:

• Hiring medical experts for testimony
• Hiring medical consultants
• Higher research costs
• Higher document handling, printing, and copying costs.

Other complex areas of personal injury law include:

• Work injury claims
• Defective products
• Cases involving multiple defendants
• Environmental claims.

Regardless of the type of complex issue, attorneys who handle these cases work diligently to resolve them as promptly as possible so their clients have the funds they need to recover.

Evidence Issues

Lawyers need evidence to build strong cases. Finding this evidence can be a challenge, depending on the case. The more resources it takes to collect necessary evidence, the higher the costs will likely be.

Consider a serious car accident or slip and fall incident resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. The sole witness becomes unlocatable without the use of significant investigatory resources. Because the compensation is so high, it will likely be worth it to expend the resources to find the witness, thus resulting in higher costs.

Insurance Company Dealings

Insurance companies hold the purse strings in most personal injury cases. They have the duty to act in good faith when dealing with claimants. Yet, many violate this duty regularly for the sake of profits.

An insurance company that operates in bad faith can lead to longer case times and higher attorney’s fees and costs. Bad faith actions include:

• Delaying communications
• Ghosting
• Ping-ponging the claimant from one department to another
• Lying about not receiving necessary documents
• Lying about having sent documents or paperwork
• Purposely making errors on paperwork that must ultimately be redone
• Denying claims without investigating.

When an insurance company’s bad faith reaches a certain level, the claimant may have a case for bad faith insurance dealings against the company.

Get the Personal Injury Representation You Deserve

Ultimately, hiring a personal injury lawyer is strongly recommended for those interested in seeking maximum compensation for their injuries. If you have been injured by someone else, get the representation you deserve from the attorneys at Wapner Newman.

For a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer you can trust, contact Wapner Newman today. Learn how we can help. Call (215) 569-0900 to discuss your case.