If you or a loved one has been involved in a New York car accident, seek legal representation from a car accident lawyer at Rosenberg and Gluck, L.L.P. to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve. One question that you may have is, “How much does a car accident lawyer cost?”
How Much Does a Car Accident Lawyer Cost?
The cost of hiring a lawyer for car accident cases varies depending on the lawyer’s fee arrangement and the state where the case takes place.
- Contingency fee basis: With this arrangement, the lawyer only collects fees after winning your settlement. It’s the most common fee setup in car accident claims and is usually a percentage of the agreed payout. In New York State, personal injury cases are always on a contingency fee basis.
- Hourly fee basis: An attorney may charge you hourly, with rates depending on their certification, skills, and experience. You often pay a retainer, kept in a client trust account. As they work, they deduct their fees from the retainer.
- Flat fee basis: It’s rare for a car accident lawyer to charge you on a flat fee basis because they cannot predict how long they will need to work on your case. As the term suggests, the arrangement charges a flat or fixed fee, varying by case type and estimated resolution time. This type of fee arrangement is common among criminal defense, uncontested divorce, and estate planning lawyers.
What Is a Contingency Fee Agreement?
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If we don’t win, you pay nothing in attorney fees.” That’s what a contingency fee arrangement means. If the personal injury attorney wins a judgment or secures a settlement for you, you pay a percentage of the amount awarded. If the car accident attorney loses, you owe nothing for legal services.
Contingency fees can vary. Standard personal injury cases in New York have a one-third fee (33.33%), while medical malpractice cases use a sliding fee schedule. You’ll be fully advised of the legal fee before legal representation even begins.
No matter the structure, understand it before signing the agreement, so you know how much you’ll owe your personal injury attorneys from the recovery at the end of the case.
What Are the Benefits of Contingency Fee Agreements?
Some of the benefits a contingent fee agreement for car accident lawyer fees include:
- No up front costs for counsel: The contingency fee structure eliminates up-front fees for accessing an attorney’s services. After an accident, mounting medical bills and lost wages often lead to financial hardship. Providing legal assistance with no up front costs offers significant relief to clients.
- Incentive: The attorney only gets paid if they secure compensation, motivating them to focus on your case and work hard to achieve the best possible outcome.
- Minimal loss: If the claim is unsuccessful, you don’t have to compensate the attorney for their time. The only potential loss is case costs, which are usually minimal compared to the hefty fees of an hourly arrangement.
- Substantial case merit: While hiring an attorney doesn’t guarantee a win, lawyers typically only pursue cases with substantial merit. This ensures they invest time and effort on claims likely to resolve.
- Justice for all: Since clients only pay attorney fees if they win, this arrangement makes legal assistance accessible to those who couldn’t afford it otherwise. Some attorneys advance funds for administrative costs and deduct them from the settlement, making justice even more accessible.
Other Costs for a Car Accident Claim
Besides the attorney’s legal fees, other costs associated with filing personal injury claims may include:
- Investigator fees
- Photocopying fees
- Postage fees
- Medical record copy expenses
- Police report retrieval costs
- Expert witness fees
- Court filing fees
- Process servers for summons and subpoenas
- Deposition, transcripts, and trial exhibit expenses
Even if an attorney covers these costs, they’re not included in their fees. These are mainly the client’s responsibility. Firms aren’t required to advance funds for administrative costs, so it’s not guaranteed yours will. But if they do, they deduct the amount from the settlement together with their fee and give you the balance.
Is a Car Accident Lawyer Worth Their Cost?
Yes. Working with an experienced car accident lawyer is better than representing yourself, despite the perceived cost savings. While hiring a lawyer doesn’t guarantee a win, their experience significantly boosts your chances of a better outcome.
Having a car accident attorney can significantly increase the payout you would receive versus if you represented yourself.
What Are the Benefits of Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer?
Experienced car accident lawyers can:
- Help protect your rights by negotiating fair compensation from the insurance company, which often aims to minimize claim payouts. Their expertise ensures you receive the settlement you deserve.
- Use their expertise to gather evidence, negotiate with insurance adjusters, and accurately compute damages. They collaborate with experts to estimate future medical costs and loss of earning capacity for serious injuries, ensuring clients receive a fair payout.
- Gather comprehensive evidence, such as eyewitness testimony, scene footage, police reports, medical records, and expert interviews, to build a strong case proving the at-fault party’s liability for damages in the car accident lawsuit.
- Handle the legal process that can be overwhelming for car accident victims dealing with recovery after a car accident. Skilled personal injury lawyers manage claims in a timely manner to seek fair compensation, allowing you to focus on recovery.
Call Rosenberg and Gluck, L.L.P. Personal Injury Law Today
If you or your loved one has been injured in a car accident caused by another driver’s negligence on Long Island, call us to discuss your car accident case.
We will review your case and lay out your legal options. In addition to legal counsel, we will answer your questions about how much your personal injury claim will cost.
