If you’ve ever seen commercials on television for personal injury attorneys, you have heard it before. You don’t have to pay anything upfront to hire a car accident lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina. In fact, you don’t even have to pay for your initial consultation. Your attorney gives you the chance to sit down with them and ask any questions you may have before you decide to hire them.
Another thing you have heard is that you don’t have to pay your Charlotte car accident lawyer until your case settles. This is also true. And, since more than 95% of all accident cases in this country settle, you may never have to worry about going to trial. The question is – what happens if your case does go to trial? Is your attorney going to charge you more money? In a nutshell, the answer is – yes.
Personal injury attorneys in North Carolina take cases on what is called a contingency basis. This means that they will take a certain percentage of your settlement or judgment. It also means that, if you don’t win, they get nothing. If, for some reason, they aren’t able to prove your case, then they don’t get paid. But neither do you.
Why Would Your Case Go to Trial in North Carolina?
As mentioned earlier, more than 95% of all personal injury cases settle long before they go to trial. Nobody wants to go to court if they don’t have to. There are several reasons why you would want to settle your case rather than go to trial. These include the following:
- It takes a lot less time to settle your case than go to trial
- Trials are expensive
- There is no guarantee that you’ll win
- You could end up with much less money than you would if you settled
- You will have to pay a lot more in attorney fees if you go to trial
Charlotte car accident attorneys understand these risks. They try hard to settle every case, if possible. Of course, they aren’t going to encourage you to take a settlement that isn’t fair. They want you to get as much money as possible. You have to keep in mind – they make more money if you receive more money. So, they’re going to try to get you as much money as possible.
Contingency Rates Do Go Up if Your Case in Charlotte Goes to Trial
Car accident lawyers in North Carolina don’t hide the fact that they charge their clients more if they have to go to trial. They explain this during your free initial consultation. They also outline this very clearly in your contingency and retainer agreements. They don’t want you to be confused. Nor do they want you to feel blindsided down the road if your case does go to trial.
There are a lot of reasons why attorneys charge more for cases that go to trial. Some of these are:
- They have to put in a lot more work if your case doesn’t settle
- They need to pay for things like expert witnesses if your case goes to trial
- They need to dedicate a lot more time to your case which means they cannot make income on another case
- They’re taking the risk that you’ll lose in court and get nothing
If your case can be settled, you seriously want to consider settling it. It is in everyone’s best interest to settle rather than go to court. Nobody wants to spend more money and dedicate more time knowing that they could lose. If your Charlotte injury lawyer can negotiate a fair settlement, you want to consider accepting it.
Call and Talk to a Skilled Car Accident Lawyer in Charlotte
If you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Charlotte, you should call our office right away. Having an experienced car accident lawyer will increase your chances of getting paid. Call today and schedule your free initial consultation. Sit down with someone who has handled dozens of cases just like yours. They’ll push to negotiate a settlement of your case from the very start.
Your attorney is going to have a better shot at settling your case than you will on your own. Insurance adjustors take lawyers a lot more seriously than they do individuals. And since the consultation is free, you really have nothing to lose. Call today and set up a date and time that works for you.
