When Will a Personal Injury Attorney Accept My Case?
Almost all personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. What this means is that a personal injury lawyer will only get paid if he wins your case. A lawyer’s fee will be based upon a percentage of what he recovers. The industry average is around 33%. But, in certain areas it varies.
For example, Las Vegas personal injury lawyers charge as little as 20%. Generally, though in order for the lawyer to receive only a 20% contingency payment the case must not have gone into litigation. A case would not go into litigation when the lawyer sends a demand letter and the insurance agrees to the requested demand or a compromise is reached.
Basically, a lawyer will accept a case when he thinks he can win a case and in turn can get any compensation for winning the case. All of these factors must be in place for a smart personal injury lawyer to accept a case. One such situation that assures that an injured party will receive some sort of compensation is when the at fault party has insurance. A lawyer will be almost always be assured of receiving compensation, for his client, if the other party was insured.
However, if the other party was not insured a lawyer may not accept your case. This may seem to be rather seedy or nonprofessional. But, this policy serves both the lawyer and the injured parties best interest. Think of it this way, “Would you want to go through all the hassles of suing someone when you will not receive any money in return. This policy basically saves everyone time and reduces stress.
Also, assuming you do win the case you then will have to deal with collecting your damages. The opposing party could either disappear or go bankrupt and then your will not receive any money. Thus, under normal circumstances a lawyer will not accept a case, when the other party is not insured, and the lawyer is reasonably sure he will not collect on any judgment her or she may receive.
Please note, the following article is based upon general information and is not meant to be legal advice for your own particular situation. Please see a local lawyer if you have any legal questions.