Have you ever heard of the term, “contingency fee?” A car accident is a daunting experience in many ways. On one hand, you may suffer the pain of the injuries you sustain in the crash. These injuries may also translate into short-term and long-term limitations. In more serious cases, the injuries may prevent you from resuming work.
On the other hand, you have to deal with the financial fallout of the crash. The medical costs of the injuries, the lost wages, and the bills for having your vehicle repaired or replaced quickly add up. This is precisely why it is often so important to seek compensatory damages in a car accident. These damages help you cover your losses and stay financially afloat.
Professional legal help is highly recommended in a car accident claim in Charlotte, NC. However, many crash victims balk at the idea, often thinking that hiring a lawyer costs a tidy sum. The good news is that this is not always the case. In fact, some of the best Charlotte car accident lawyers work on a contingency fee arrangement.
Contingency Fee Arrangement
Typically, you pay your lawyer up front or per hour. This may work for routine legal matters but when you have just suffered a crash, you may simply not be in a position to pay up. This is where a contingency fee arrangement helps.
In such an arrangement, you don’t have to pay any money upfront. Instead, the payment is deferred. You agree to pay your lawyer only once the claim is successful. The payment is a percentage of the damages you receive.
Factors Affecting the Contingency Fee
The actual percentage you pay your attorney depends on a number of factors. The most important among these is the nature of your claim. If the claim is fairly straightforward, the contingency fee is typically lower. If you have to file a lawsuit but the claim is settled before the case goes to trial, the fee is somewhat higher. And it is higher still if the case is resolved through a lawsuit.
In each case, the typical contingency fee for car crash claims is as follows:
- 25% if the claim is successful without the need to file a lawsuit
- 33% if a lawsuit is filed but a settlement is reached without the case going to a trial
- 40% if the case is resolved after it goes to trial
The North Carolina State Bar also has a set of rules that govern all contingency fee arrangements. Any such arrangement you reach with your Charlotte car accident lawyer must observe these rules.
Benefits of a Contingency Fee Arrangement
A contingency fee arrangement offers a number of benefits. For you as a car crash victim, this arrangement has the following obvious advantages:
- You don’t have to pay any money upfront. At a time when you may be financially pressed to meet medical costs, property damage and other losses, you don’t want legal fees to be added to the list. With a contingency arrangement, you don’t have to pay anything right away.
- You don’t pay if your claim isn’t successful. Again, a claim is meant to help you stay financially viable in the first place. So if the claim fails and you are stuck with legal fees that’s not fair. This is why under a contingency arrangement you pay nothing if you lose the claim.
- A lawyer must do his or her best. This is guaranteed by the fact that the attorney won’t be paid anything unless the claim is successful. So your attorney has a stake in making sure that your claim gets accepted.
That being said, a contingency fee arrangement may cost more. This is why it is important to discuss the details of your case and the fine print of the contingency arrangement with your lawyer before you make the hire.
Hiring a Reliable Charlotte Car Accident Lawyer
If you wish to file a car accident claim in Charlotte, it is best to hire a reliable attorney at the earliest. With an attorney on your side, you can file the claim in time and make sure you seek the fair amount of damages.
Here at Ted A. Greve & Associates, we specialize in handling car crash claims on a contingency basis. This means that we are committed to each and every case, doing our best to help our clients win their claims. Call us today to discuss your car crash claim with our attorneys and start the process of preparing and filing the claim.
