How Much Is a Car Accident Lawyer?

If you or someone you love have been involved in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be wondering how to cover the damage to your vehicle, how to afford medical treatments for your injuries, or how to simply get your life back to normal. If these questions are on your mind, then you will also likely be wondering, “How much is a car accident lawyer?”

While there is a lot to consider, the short answer is that there are a few primary ways personal injury victims pay for a lawyer: the retainer model and the hourly payment model. Some attorneys also charge flat fees for their services and will tell you this information upfront when hiring a lawyer to assist you with something. 

Personal injury claims can be somewhat unique from other areas of the law because attorneys here charge differently. As an accident victim, you have many different questions and concerns about your future, and chief among these is whether or not you'll be able to hire an attorney to help you with your case. 

If you're curious how much is a car accident lawyer's fees for helping you in a legal claim, read on to learn more about the typical way that attorneys, and especially those working at Morgan & Morgan, assist victims of vehicle accidents. At Morgan & Morgan, our attorneys work for a contingency fee, meaning you don’t pay a cent unless we win your case.

If you require additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact Morgan & Morgan for help. We can provide you with a free, no-obligation case evaluation to get you started.

What Are Common Expenses After an Accident?

Some of the leading causes of stress for personal injury victims after an accident are the rising medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses from their crash. It can be difficult to stay on top of these when you are struggling every day with painful injuries or when you are unable to go back to work because your conditions are so severe. To add to the stress, increasing medical bills showing up in your mailbox or getting calls from debt collectors only serves to heighten your anxiety. 

This can be enough to deal with when you weren't responsible for causing the accident in the first place, which is one of the most common reasons that people turn to experienced personal injury lawyers. Personal injury lawyers can help you with each phase of your case, from communicating with the insurance company to reconstructing the scene of the accident to gathering evidence showcasing how the accident happened overall—and even hiring expert witnesses to help tell your side of the story in court. 

No matter what you need from a personal injury attorney, it is important to hire a lawyer who has experience in this field of the law and who is comfortable fighting as hard as possible for your rights. There is a lot at stake for your future with a personal injury claim. In the first moments after the accident happens, you may assume that your injuries are minor or that your expenses will be limited. You may think that it is in your best interests at that point in time to communicate directly with the insurance company to try to resolve your issue. 

Some car accident victims are successful in working with their insurance company to get benefits paid out according to their car insurance claim. However, when someone else is responsible for your accident, there is a likelihood that their insurance company does not want to cover these benefits or that the person who caused the accident may argue that they weren't responsible or even that you contributed to causing the accident. These factors can have a significant impact on whether or not you're able to recover compensation for your injuries. 

The attorneys at Morgan & Morgan know these tactics in great detail and have helped many other victims successfully navigate the legal landscape. We recognize what's at stake for the future of your claim, and will help you to total up all of your damages. Totaling up all of your damages can also give you a very good idea of whether or not it makes sense to work with an attorney. This is because you may not realize the full scope of damages available to you or the range of your rights in a typical personal injury claim. Each state has specific laws about which types of damages you can recover, but in general, this covers all expenses associated with recovery from the accident. This can include hospital expenses, rehabilitation expenses, assistive device expenses, traveling to and from your doctor's appointments, lost wages, property damage, and so many more. You may not have an accurate total of all of this information and therefore may assume that the settlement offer presented to you by the insurance company is fair enough to cover these fees and costs. 

If you accept a settlement offer too soon, you give up your ability to pursue future compensation. It is vital that you understand all potential forms of compensation available to you and a range of money that would be fair given the scope of your injuries and the accident's impact on your life. Without this, you may sign a settlement offer that seems good at the moment but doesn't stretch far enough into the future to cover your expenses. 

Why Would a Lawyer Take on a Contingency Fee Agreement?

As mentioned earlier, contingency fees are a great way to get started with a legal claim without any upfront expenses, especially since a car accident can already have so many expenses associated with it. 

Since it is so different from the way that many lawyers would approach setting up their fee agreements, it is natural to wonder why an attorney would accept an agreement where they get paid a percentage of your settlement or a jury trial winnings. Personal injury lawyers recognize that you are facing an uphill battle with your finances after you've been hurt in an accident, and they use a contingency fee to give you some peace of mind that you can begin hiring a knowledgeable and talented attorney as soon as possible without having to worry about paying for a lawyer. This also gives the attorney an incentive to only take on cases that they believe are strong enough to lead to a settlement or successful jury outcome because they are strongly tied to the outcome of the case and it determines whether or not they receive payment. 

There is usually little to no negotiation room with a personal injury lawyer over the contingency fee agreement. Your lawyer is taking on the risk of handling your case and making sure that it is presented as strongly as possible, but there is also the chance that they may not be successful in your case and may not get paid at all. Most attorneys share this information with you up front so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not you are comfortable with the contingency fee percentage. 

You don't want to compromise your medical care, and you deserve to be made whole for what you suffered in the accident, so make sure you total up all of your damages and compensation with the help of a personal injury attorney. If you realize that the amount of money at stake is far higher than you expected, it is well worth hiring an attorney. You may find it challenging to negotiate with the insurance company directly or to make a strong case about the damages owed to you. However, personal injury attorneys like those working at Morgan & Morgan have been doing this for years and know how to make sure to maximize your compensation. Hiring the right lawyer could have a major impact on the compensation that you receive, which could set you and your family up for years to come. You shouldn't have to pay the consequences because of someone else's negligence or recklessness in an accident.

How Do Personal Injury Lawyers Get Paid?

Unlike other attorney fee structures, which could be flat fee retainer or hourly, personal injury lawyers typically get paid on a contingency fee basis. This has a few big benefits for you. First of all, a contingency fee agreement with a personal injury lawyer usually states that your attorney is not entitled to recover compensation for their services unless they are successful in your case. Success could include the resolution of your case at settlement or in court. This is why many attorneys are highly experienced in evaluating personal injury claims and determining whether or not you have a strong enough case to proceed. 

This should give you peace of mind that if your personal injury lawyer has accepted your case, they will do everything possible to maximize the best outcome for you because it is also the only way they will be paid for the work that they put in. 

The second major benefit of a contingency fee arrangement with a personal injury lawyer is that you do not pay money upfront. If you had to come up with thousands of dollars for a lawyer retainer in the midst of dealing with the financial fallout of a car accident, this would be difficult for most people to do. Recognizing this, personal injury attorneys instead choose to receive a percentage of your final award amount, which is usually 30%. If your lawyer has the right skills, resources, and ability to negotiate a fair settlement for you, this 30% could still set you up for a long future with your best possible chance for recovery. 

Get Help From Morgan & Morgan

Morgan & Morgan personal injury attorneys are very familiar with the legal system, the common tactics used by insurance companies, and the best ways to present a strong case. Partnering with one of our lawyers can reduce a significant amount of stress for you and give your family the best chance for moving on from this unfortunate incident and to a brighter future. 

If you have further questions about what it takes to work with a personal injury attorney, or why the contingency fee arrangement makes sense for your claim,contact Morgan & Morgan today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.