How Does a Car Accident Contract Work?

CONTINGENCY FEE CONTRACTS

Car accident attorneys normally only charge if they “win” their case for you. That means that they get paid a percentage of the recovery of your case.

Our fees generally range from 35% to 40% of the recovery depending on if we filed suit or not, the lower fee meaning we have not filed suit.

Many of our clients want to maximize recovery and minimize expense but we don’t always see eye to eye with the insurance company and sometimes have to file suit to get a better recovery.

Costs

Costs are the expenses your attorney pays while preparing and negotiating your case. The amounts normally include office and copying costs, deposition expenses, expert testimony, etc. They are deducted from the total settlement or verdict after a case is won. The costs are deducted first, before the attorney takes his fee.

Medical Liens

Your attorney is legally obligated to deduct and pay all medical liens before you receive any settlement money. These include medical bills from hospitals and doctors who provided treatment to you based on letters of protection, and any other providers who deferred payment for your treatment until the case was finalized. Our firm often sends a Letter of Protection (LOP) which is a letter sent to one or more of your medical providers promising to pay them for your treatment. They are promised payment out of your settlement funds or the amount awarded after a trial or arbitration. The letter of protection is a binding contract between the parties and cannot be breached.

Deposition Costs

Depositions require court reporters, who can charge anywhere from $5.00 to $7.00 per page just to take a deposition. They charge additional amounts for copies, certified transcripts, court filing, etc. Court reporter fees can have a substantial effect on a law firm’s overall compensation and the value of your case. It’s not unusual for a deposition to cost over $1,000 per day. Videographers add cost to each deposition.

Expert witnesses are also expensive. Depending on the type of case and expertise required, an expert witness can cost $1,000 or more per day.

Other pre-trial activities include interrogatories, requests for production, legal briefs, and more. These all represent time and resources your attorney continues to spend with no guarantee of reimbursement. Sometimes our firm spends thousands of dollars.

If you have more questions about our fees call our law firm today

Alex R. Hernandez Jr. PLLC Principal Office Corpus Christi Texas