Contingency Fees - You Only Pay If We Win
In most personal injury cases, a lawyer’s typical contingency fee will be between 33% and 40% of the compensation recovered for you, and you only pay if you win. Your written fee agreement will specify what percentage of your compensation the lawyer will receive as their fee.
How much a personal injury lawyer will charge depends on numerous factors such as the complexity of the personal injury, the time needed to resolve the case, and the expenses associated with handling the case. When you first consult with a personal injury attorney, they should be upfront with you about the fee agreement. This means discussing anticipated expenses, unanticipated expenses, and the costs you will be responsible for in the event of a loss or a win. Discussing the fee arrangement is a crucial step in the legal process and will allow you to make a well-informed decision before hiring a personal injury lawyer and signing any written fee agreement.
At Brown & Crouppen, we work on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you don’t pay anything upfront – you only pay if we win. We believe that everyone deserves access to the best representation possible, which is why we only get paid if you get paid.
Getting started with your case is easy. You can call us at 888-795-0694 for a free consultation, or request a free case evaluation online.
About Contingency Fees
The most common fee arrangement with personal injury lawyers is a contingency fee. The definition of “contingency” is “a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.” In the context of a personal injury case, a contingency fee arrangement simply means that the amount you owe the attorney is completely determined by the outcome of your case. If your case is unsuccessful, you will not owe the attorney an attorney’s fee. Slogans in attorney advertisements such as “I don’t get paid if you don’t get paid” or “If you don’t win, you don’t pay” are indications that the attorney works on a contingency fee basis. At Brown & Crouppen Law Firm, our personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis – if you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid.
It should be noted that even if a contingency fee arrangement indicates that no attorney’s fee is owed in the event of a loss, some contingency fee arrangements may provide that the client is nevertheless responsible for case expenses and court costs in the event of a loss. Case expenses are expenses distinct from the attorney’s fee, which is meant only to compensate the attorney for their legal service to you. Case expenses are those related to research, investigation, filing documents with the court, and necessary travel. A list of common case expenses is discussed in detail below. Make sure before you enter into a written agreement that you know whether or not you are responsible for case expenses in the event of a loss.
The most common fee arrangement with personal injury lawyers is a contingency fee. The definition of “contingency” is “a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.” In the context of a personal injury case, a contingency fee arrangement simply means that the amount you owe the attorney is completely determined by the outcome of your case. If your case is unsuccessful, you will not owe the attorney an attorney’s fee. Slogans in attorney advertisements such as “I don’t get paid if you don’t get paid” or “If you don’t win, you don’t pay” are indications that the attorney works on a contingency fee basis. At Brown & Crouppen Law Firm, our personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis – if you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid.
It should be noted that even if a contingency fee arrangement indicates that no attorney’s fee is owed in the event of a loss, some contingency fee arrangements may provide that the client is nevertheless responsible for case expenses and court costs in the event of a loss. Case expenses are expenses distinct from the attorney’s fee, which is meant only to compensate the attorney for their legal service to you. Case expenses are those related to research, investigation, filing documents with the court, and necessary travel. A list of common case expenses is discussed in detail below. Make sure before you enter into a written agreement that you know whether or not you are responsible for case expenses in the event of a loss.
How Contingency Fees Are Determined
The contingency fee is a percentage of what you are awarded. The percentage normally ranges between 33% and 40%. For example, if an insurance company awards an injured party $100,000 and the attorney’s fee is 38%, the attorney’s fee will be $38,000. Because a lawyer working on a contingency basis assumes the risk that they will recover nothing at the end of your case (and also lose money by paying case expenses out of their own funds), it only makes sense that the unique circumstances of each personal injury case will affect the percentage of the attorney’s fee. Personal injury lawyers might apply a standard percentage to all cases or find that a deviation from the standard percentage is warranted due to the following factors:
- Causation (considering whether there is a dispute over who caused the accident or if it’s straightforward)
- The nature of the personal injury (If the injured party had pre-existing conditions involving the same body parts injured in the accident, there may be a dispute over medical expenses and/or treatment, or the at-fault party may argue that the injured party’s injuries were not caused by the accident.)
- A lack of evidence (no eyewitnesses to the accident, no police report, etc.)
- The inability to resolve the dispute without filing a lawsuit and having to go to trial (A higher percentage or a percentage increase is usually warranted when a case goes to trial; this is sometimes referred to as a contingency fee on a “sliding scale.”)
- Your written fee agreement should specify what percentage of your award the attorney will receive as their fee, whether that percentage is subject to an increase if a certain event occurs (like going to trial), and who will pay for costs and expenses at the end of the case.
Additional Fee Types & Fee Structures
The benefit of a contingency fee agreement is that there is no upfront cost to you to simply hire the lawyer, nor is any cost required upfront for them to begin work on your case. In a contingency fee agreement, the lawyer deducts their fee from the amount you are ultimately awarded, meaning you are not paying the attorney’s fee out of your own pocket. Other examples of fee arrangements that exist in the legal world are as follows:
- Flat fees – When a lawyer charges a specified amount, determined upfront, for handling a simple, straightforward matter. These are matters where a lawyer knows at the get-go generally how much time and effort it will take to handle the legal matter based on their experience. For example: drafting someone’s will, handling an uncontested divorce, contesting a traffic ticket, etc.
- Hourly fees – Some lawyers will charge a dollar amount per hour, track how much time they spend on each task they perform, and then bill their client periodically or at the resolution of their case. Some lawyers may charge different rates based on the type of case or the task performed. For example, a lawyer’s hourly rate for drafting a contract might be higher than their hourly rate for handling a traffic ticket, or a lawyer’s hourly rate for going to court will likely be higher than their hourly rate for simply giving legal advice. It consequently follows that lawyers who work on an hourly basis are motivated to keep track of every minute they devote to a case, meaning lawyers can bill for making a quick phone call or simply sending an email.
- Retainer fees – This is not really another type of fee agreement but instead an upfront deposit or down payment towards the total amount of legal services. Payment of a retainer fee must be made upfront to retain the lawyer’s services before they begin any work on a case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will The Liable Party Cover Or Reimburse Lawyer Fees?
The general rule is that each party is responsible for paying their own lawyer’s fees. There are some instances where an at-fault party may be required to pay the injured party’s attorney’s fees if a court orders it. Some states have statutes determining when a court may order one party to pay the opposing party’s attorney’s fees.
How Much Will Contingency Fees Cost For My Case?
Written fee agreements should describe what expenses a client will be responsible for at the end of the case or during a case. If an agreement does not specifically identify what expenses are considered case expenses, an agreement may broadly indicate that “costs and expenses” are any expenses incurred specifically for that client’s case. This usually means the attorney has discretion to spend whatever they believe is necessary to add value to the case and increase its chances of being successful. The most frequently incurred and common types of case expenses are described below.
- Record retrieval costs – Costs associated with retrieving copies of the client’s medical records and costs associated with retrieving copies of a police report
- Travel expenses – Costs associated with traveling to the site of where evidence is located, traveling to interview key witnesses, traveling required to attend a deposition (the questioning of a witness before trial, where their testimony is taken under oath and transcribed by a court report and sometimes also required by a videographer), and traveling required for court appearances
- Expert and witness fees – Costs associated with hiring an expert to offer an expert opinion in your case (when the attorney believes the testimony of a skilled expert is necessary for the jury to understand an important issue in the case), costs associated with taking a witness’s deposition (fees due to the court reporter transcribing the deposition or the videographer recording the deposition), and costs associated with securing witnesses’ appearance at trial
- Court costs – Costs associated with filing motions and pleadings if your case is litigated, meaning your claim cannot be resolved without court intervention and the filing of a lawsuit is required
- Trial expenses – Costs associated with preparing for trial and presenting evidence at trial. Examples might include printing an enlarged copy of key evidence on posterboard to present to the jury, hiring a tech company to edit videos for trial, etc.
Do I Have To Pay Taxes In Addition To Contingency Fees?
If the claim is a personal injury case and did not contain an itemized deduction for medical expenses related to the injury in years prior, the full amount is non-taxable. There is no need to include the personal injury settlement proceeds in income. However, lawsuit taxes and considerations for personal injury claims may vary from state to state.
Get Started With Your Personal Injury Case
As discussed above, Brown & Crouppen’s personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, and there are no upfront costs to you for us to begin working on your case. The first step is the free initial consultation to determine if you have an actionable legal claim; this is free legal advice on whether or not you have an actionable personal injury case. If we decide to take your case and you do not get paid, you do not owe Brown & Crouppen an attorney fee or any case expenses. This is because we believe that everyone deserves access to the best representation possible and attorney fees should not get in the way of a wrongfully injured person’s ability to seek legal help.
Getting started with your case is easy. You can call us at 888-795-0694 for a free consultation, or request a free case evaluation online.
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