If you’ve been injured in Southern California due to another individual’s carelessness or a negligent business or property owner, you may be considering hiring a personal injury lawyer for recoverable damages like medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. Unfortunately, some injury victims shrug off this choice because they fear the expense of hiring an Encino personal injury lawyer makes a successful claim not worthwhile.
Many injury victims are surprised to learn that they pay nothing upfront to hire a personal injury lawyer. Unlike divorce attorneys and criminal lawyers, most reputable personal injury lawyers offer free, no-obligation consultations. During this consultation, the attorney hears the details of your case and examines any evidence you might already have gathered to support your claim. If they decide you have a valid claim for compensation they will agree to take on your case. Because consultations are free, it’s wise to schedule several consultations with leading personal injury attorneys in your area until you find one that you connect with and who offers you the most assertive strategy and hopeful outlook for results.
During the consultation, it’s important to ask for details about the attorney’s contingency-based payment percentage and weigh that into your decision about which attorney to hire. You should also ask if the attorney you speak with during the initial consultation is the one who will represent you or if they plan to pass your case on to a partner.
Almost all California personal injury lawyers use contingency-based payment plans for their clients. This means their payment is contingent upon successfully settling or winning your compensation in court. As their personal injury client, you pay nothing upfront and owe them nothing if they fail to recover your compensation. If they do recover compensation for your damages through a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurer or in a lawsuit in court, they take their fee through a percentage of your compensation.
Most personal injury lawyers in California charge 30 to 40% of the client’s compensation. The average charge is a 33% fee. Some attorneys may charge 30% during investigation and negotiations and increase the percentage to 40% if a case goes to trial.
While the idea of paying an attorney 30 to 40% of your recovered compensation may seem daunting, it’s important to understand how an experienced personal injury lawyer maximizes the amount you recover. Remember, the more you recover, the more they get paid. This incentivizes them to carefully calculate your economic and non-economic damages to ensure that you miss no avenue for compensation. They also categorize your recoverable damages in a way that minimizes any taxable compensation so you’re very likely to end up recovering substantially more of your damages than you would navigating the personal injury claim without skilled legal representation.