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How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
When you work with The O’Connor Law Firm, you pay us nothing up front. We will handle your case on a “contingency” basis – this means that any fee recovered is contingent on getting you compensation by settlement or verdict. You do not pay us anything until and unless we win your case by settlement or at trial.
The contingency fee system actually discourages frivolous lawsuits. No lawyer wants to take a frivolous case only to spend hundreds of hours on it for zero payment. In contrast, hourly fee attorneys have an incentive to drag a case out for years since they get paid for the amount of time they work on the case.
The contingency fee system also helps put injury victims on even footing with large insurance companies who have unlimited funds to pay defense attorneys to fight legitimate claims. Injured victims can now hire a very experienced attorney to fight for them without having to worry about the bill for legal services. Many injury victims would not be able to have their cases heard and would be forced to accept whatever lowball offer an insurance company wishes to make.
In New York, most personal injury attorneys handle accident cases pursuant to a 33 1/3 percent contingency fee agreement. All fee agreements must be in writing. You should also know that the contingency fee does not include the expenses that accrue during the course of your case. For example, the cost of medical, records, court filings, expert fees, court reporter fees and other out-of-pocket expenses are the responsibility of the client. However, most injury lawyers do not bill the client for these expenses in the event money is not recovered. Make sure you ask your attorney about their policy on expenses and such policy is in the written retainer agreement.
Contact Us If You Have Further Questions
If you have additional questions about your injury case, please give us a call and we will gladly discuss how we can help you. We have offices in Manhattan and Staten Island and can be reached at 212-566-4868 or 718-948-3500.