In California almost all accident attorneys work on what’s called a contingency fee basis. This means that you don’t pay as you go and the attorney only gets paid out of the case settlement at the end of the case. If the case doesn’t bring any money, you usually don’t owe any money.
Here is some more information for you about car accident or personal injury attorney fees.
Most car accident and personal injury attorneys charge one third (33 1/3) percent of whatever the total settlement is. What you get for that money is the attorney taking care of all of the following:
- Helping you get your car fixed by the other person’s insurance company, usually at no extra charge to you. This work is usually all included in the one third fee, even though it has to do with the repair of the car and not your personal injuries..
- Sending letters of representation to all of the insurance companies involved so that you don’t have to deal with insurance company adjusters.
- Obtaining all necessary medical records and bills from the ambulance company, emergency room, treating doctors, radiology facilities and any other health care provider you see for the accident.
- Gathering all of your lost wages or lost income documentation in preparation for the lost income portion of your claim..
- Preparing a settlement package, containing all of the above documentation, and sending it to the insurance company of the person who caused the accident.
- Negotiating with the insurance company and obtaining a money settlement that you are satisfied with.
If the insurance company won’t pay and the case goes to trial most attorneys raise their fee by a small additional amount. They usually increase the fee from one-third (33 1/3) of the total settlement to 40% of the total verdict. The reason for this increase in the fee is because the attorney has a great deal more work to do in preparing a case for trial. An attorney taking a case to trial will usually spend almost all of his or her time on your case alone, in order to have a successful result at trial.
My name is John Burns and I’m a car accident and personal injury attorney in South Orange County California. My office is located in San Juan Capistrano, California.
If you have a question about attorney fees please call me to discuss it. My phone number is (949) 496-7000, and my email is john@johnburnslaw.com. You can also read my article entitled Can I Change Attorneys Without Any Extra Attorney Fees on this website.
I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great day.