Different Fee Structures for a Personal Injury Case

When you are pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, the best thing you can do to help yourself and your case is to hire an attorney. A skilled and experienced attorney will be able to guide you through the process, making it much smoother and drastically increase your chance of victory. When it comes to hiring a lawyer, however, many people are concerned about the costs involved, particularly because different lawyers use different structures of charging fees.

The type of fee structure that an attorney may use is dependent on the nature of the case itself. Just as there are many different types of personal injury cases, so too are there different fee structures.

A common kind is a contingency fee. Under this structure, you only have to pay the fee to the lawyer if the case is won, although case expenses besides that pay still apply. By contrast, some cases warrant a flat fee or an hourly fee for the work provided. The former is typically only used if the case is simple or an “easy win,” whereas the latter is for more drawn-out cases. A retainer fee is a hybrid of the two and is a flat fee based on the lawyer’s typical hourly rate and how long the case is expected to last.

Under certain circumstances, a lawyer may be unable to complete a case and therefore refer you to another. This sometimes garners a referral fee, although this is outlawed in certain states. Finally, a statutory fee is one mandated by the court, but typically only apply under specific circumstances, such as bankruptcy or if the individual is consulting with a public defender.

Some lawyers will also charge a consultation fee to help assess the needs of the case, but this is never applied if you work with the Franco Law Firm. To learn how we can work with you today to help you achieve success in your personal injury case, please call us at (813) 872-0929.