Many injury victims struggle to pay for the costs of their medical bills and do not have the funds to hire a lawyer for their cases. For this reason, attorneys are allowed to work on a contingency fee basis when taking on a Florida personal injury case.
A contingency fee agreement is an arrangement between a lawyer and an injury client where the lawyer agrees to foot the bill for case until it's won.
Simply put, contingency fees allow injury victims to get legal advice and representation without paying any costs up front.
Benefits of Contingency Fee Agreements in Florida Injury Cases
Contingency fees offer a number of benefits for both attorneys and clients. First, since the attorney won't be paid unless the case is won, he has a greater incentive to win your case. He'll also try to keep expenses as low as possible and recover as high a settlement for you as he can, since he's paid with a percentage of your damages.
Additional advantages of a contingency fee agreement include:
- A client pays no upfront costs of his or her case, including retainers, requests for medical records, obtaining police reports, hiring expert witnesses and investigators, taking depositions, creating trial exhibits, and postage and filing fees.
- The client doesn't pay legal fees until the case is settled, allowing the client to retain as much of his or her compensation as possible while the case is being decided.
- If the attorney does not win the case, the client doesn't pay any legal fees.
- The lawyer is limited as to the percentage of the client’s recovery he may take as his fee.
In order for a contingency fee agreement to be legal, the lawyer and client must sign a written fee agreement before litigation that states what portion of the recovery the lawyer will be paid. In Florida, the percentage depends on a number of factors, including the amount of damages, whether the attorney must file a lawsuit (versus settling without filing), whether a negligent party admits liability, and whether an appeal must be filed.
Our attorneys are proud to offer our assistance to all injury clients on a contingency-fee basis. Contact us today to speak to a member of our legal team about your case.
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