If your personal injury attorney wins your case for you, your lawyer would usually earn 33% of your settlement award. This is a standard fee if you signed a contingency agreement with your lawyer.
A contingency agreement means your lawyer only gets paid if the case is successful. Your attorney would receive nothing if the case were lost.
It’s also important to note that some attorneys charge more and some less. For instance, Ylla|Gosney Attorneys at Law in Oklahoma City can reduce their fee to make sure clients get what they need to fully recover from an injury.
How Does an OKC Personal Injury Lawyer Get Paid?
Discussing an Attorney Fee
You should take advantage of a free consultation with a skilled lawyer. It’s a no-risk way to go over your case and find out what’s possible and what you might earn. If lawyers don’t feel like they can increase the value of your case, they should be honest with you. At Ylla|Gosney we would be upfront about your best options. If we can’t help you earn more, we can still direct you on how to best file the claim yourself and avoid getting cheated by insurance companies.
If you feel your lawyer can protect your case against unfair insurance adjusters, you might want to hire legal protection. If you feel your lawyer can help you earn substantially more for your injury claim, you should discuss terms. Make sure you are absolutely clear on what you’ll be charged and if you aren’t, ask the lawyer to explain it in more detail.
Paying a Lawyer
Under a contingency agreement, most lawyers will agree to represent you and cover all case expenses until the case is won. Then the settlement check would be sent to your lawyer’s law firm and the lawyer would keep around a third of the award. In some cases, the lawyer would be repaid for some investigative fees. The rest of the settlement check will be delivered to you.
If the case was rejected or thrown out, under a contingency fee, the lawyer would usually get nothing.
A third of your award may seem like a lot, but lawyers take on a lot of risk by paying for everything involved in building and presenting your case. They put in work hours when they aren’t guaranteed to ever be paid. A case can fail for many reasons. They can be unsuccessful for reasons that are out of the lawyer’s control.
The idea behind a contingency fee is that with the right case, lawyers can earn victims and their families much more than they could earn on their own. This compensation is often enough to pay the lawyer fairly and to provide the victims with everything needed to rebuild their lives. Lawyers also handle the frustrating claims process while victims are allowed to focus on healing and getting back to their normal lives.
How Do I Know If I Need a Lawyer for my Oklahoma City Personal Injury Case?
The severity of your injuries will often determine if you can benefit from an attorney’s help. If something like a car accident or a dog bite only results in some minor bruising and soreness, you may not need a lawyer for your case.
However, if you suffer a more serious injury, like a broken hand or a head trauma, and someone else caused your accident, you may need a lawyer’s assistance. Turning your case over to a skilled attorney safeguards your case when insurance companies try to devalue your claim or question your integrity simply to avoid having to offer support.
If you are unsure about whether you need a lawyer or not, there’s no easier way to gain peace of mind than by scheduling a free, no-pressure case consultation with a real Oklahoma City Lawyer. We can go over the case, and if you can do better by filing your claim yourself, we’ll tell you that. If you feel we can help you earn more, you won’t need any upfront money to hire us. We work on a contingency basis. We work for you and it’s your outcome that’s most important to us.
