How Do Contingency Fees Work in a Personal Injury Case?

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If you’ve been hurt in an accident and are already struggling financially, you may be wondering how you could afford an attorney to help you recover compensation for your losses. Legal services sound expensive. It’s understandable to be concerned about having to pay legal fees up front.

At Demas Law Group, P.C., we don’t want financial fears to prevent you from getting the legal help you need after an accident. That’s why our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis that requires no upfront payment. Under the contingency fee model of payment, we get paid only if your claim is successful. Even then, you don’t pay us out of your pocket. Instead, our attorney’s fees will be deducted from your final settlement or award.

With contingency fees, you can rest easy knowing that if your case is not successful, you won’t be out any money for attorney’s fees. You can also be confident that our objective is the same as yours – to recover maximum compensation for all your losses.

If you have been injured in the Sacramento area and are looking for risk-free legal help, contact the personal injury attorneys of Demas Law Group, P.C. now for a free consultation about your situation and your best legal options. We’ll explain how contingency fees can allow you to get the quality legal help you deserve with no financial risk on your part.

Types of Legal Service Pricing

A lawyer and a client can, in theory, sign a contract setting up almost any type of payment structure imaginable, but most lawyers tend to stick to one of a few basic types of billing. Here are some of the most common ways lawyers charge for their services:

  • Hourly Billing – The lawyer records every hour spent working on the case and charges the client a set rate for each hour of work. This type of payment structure can get very expensive very quickly. It is usually not a good option for clients with limited resources.
  • Fixed Pricing – The lawyer charges a fixed amount up front for a particular type of service. Under this type of pricing, you know what you’re paying, but you still run the risk of losing money on an unsuccessful case.
  • Retainer – A lawyer is said to be on retainer when the client pays them a regular fee, even when they are not handling a particular case. The client can then call on the lawyer to provide legal services at any time. This arrangement is typically used by the wealthiest clients and it is not common among personal injury lawyers.
  • Contingency Fees – The lawyer and client agree to a “no win, no fee” arrangement. It sets a percentage of the compensation the lawyer will take as payment if the case is successful, whatever the actual amount turns out to be. If the case is not successful, the client pays nothing and the lawyer receives nothing.

Among these types of legal service pricing, contingency fees are unique in that they involve no risk of financial loss for the client if the case does not pan out. When considering different law firms to handle your personal injury case, it is always important to look into their pricing and determine how risky of an investment their services could be.

How Contingency Fees Work in Personal Injury Cases

While contingency fees involve less financial risk on your part, it is still important to understand how the process works before signing any agreement so that you know what to expect. Here is an outline of how contingency fees work in most cases:

  1. The lawyer will sit down with you for a discussion to better understand the specifics of your case and to explain how they can help. At Demas Law Group, P.C., we guarantee each client a free consultation.
  2. If you and the lawyer agree to work together on your case, you and the lawyer will sign an agreement that outlines the terms of the legal services they will provide. This agreement will set the contingency fees that will be deducted from your monetary award if the case is successful.
  3. Throughout the course of the case, your lawyer will keep track of case costs that are not covered as a part of their legal services. Some lawyers might charge you each time a cost is incurred, but at Demas Law Group, P.C., we front the money for all case costs and will only deduct these costs from your monetary award if the case is a success.
  4. If the case ends in a settlement, the lawyer will receive the check, deduct the percentage of the money set out in the initial agreement as well as any case costs, and send the rest of the money to you.
  5. If the case goes to court, the lawyer will deduct costs in the same way explained above, except that in certain cases, the contingency agreement may have set a different percentage to be deducted than if the case had ended in a settlement.
  6. If you do not recover compensation on your claim, you owe the firm nothing for attorney’s fees.

Much of the process depends on what is laid out in the agreement you and your lawyer sign at the outset. The average contingency fee that a lawyer charges is usually around 33% for settlements and 40% for court verdicts, but in some cases, it may be lower or higher. It is important to read the agreement you sign and to understand ahead of time how much your lawyer will deduct.

Types of Cases with Contingency Fees

Contingency fees are very common in personal injury cases. At Demas Law Group, P.C., we only take personal injury cases, and we handle all cases on a contingency fee basis. Here are the major types of cases we handle as a dedicated personal injury firm:

If you have suffered an injury in one of these or any other type of accident, our Sacramento personal injury lawyers are prepared to provide you with legal representation and ask for payment only if we win your case.

Contact a Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer Today

After an accident, you may desperately need financial compensation, but you may not be able to pay for the legal services you deserve. With Demas Law Group, P.C., you won’t have to overextend yourself financially. Our Sacramento personal injury lawyers will fight for you without asking for anything in return unless we win, guaranteed.

For more information and to set up a free consultation, call us or contact us online now.

The lawyer you choose to represent you in your personal injury matter will greatly affect the outcome of your case. What many people don’t realize, though, is that your relationship with your lawyer will also impact your life.