How To Pay Your Personal Injury Attorney
Personal Injury Attorney
Personal injuries can get expensive, but you can seek a lawsuit against the responsible party and get compensated for your expenses. You might see this as both a benefit and a problem. The benefit is that you don’t have to pay for medical bills and other damages. The problem is that you still need to pay these costs until you receive compensation and you also have to pay your attorney. How can you fix this problem?
Contingency Fees
One of the benefits of hiring a personal injury attorney is many of them charge a contingency fee. Instead of paying your lawyer upfront, his or her fee comes out of the final settlement. You won’t have to worry about payment at all because the lawyer will gain a percentage from the settlement, regardless of the settlement amount. For example, if your lawyer charges a 40% contingency fee, and your settlement is $80,000, the lawyer would take $32,000. This also means that if you don’t win a settlement, which would mean it was $0, there would be a $0 contingency fee.
Payment Plans
If a lawyer charges a flat rate or an hourly fee, it could be harder for you to get the fee paid. You do have options though. One option is to speak with the lawyer about a payment plan. Maybe your lawyer will not charge you until the case is finalized. Maybe your lawyer will accept small monthly payments without interest until a certain point. You won’t know until you ask, and lawyers who deal with personal injury situations are often understanding because of the nature of the case.
If your lawyer doesn’t do payment plans, then see if there is another discount you can take advantage of. For example, if you pay the entire amount upfront in cash, will the lawyer take a certain percentage off the cost?
Legal Loans
You might have to seek a personal loan to pay for your legal fees if you don’t have another option. If you receive a generous settlement, you can often pay the loan off all at once with the money you receive. While this could cut into your settlement amount, you can often seek damages such as pain and suffering, and that is the money you could use to pay off the loan.
Contacting a Lawyer
If you’re worried about how to pay for a personal injury lawyer, it might help to speak with a professional face to face. There are often options you don’t know about, so you shouldn’t get discouraged from calling someone. Contact a personal injury attorney today to learn more.