If someone else’s negligence leaves you or a family member injured or disabled, you are probably facing mounting expenses – and may be afraid to even consider hiring a personal injury lawyer due to the perceived additional cost. How can an average person possibly gather enough money to stand up against big insurance companies and their armies of lawyers? Fortunately, anyone can afford to hire a skilled personal injury lawyer in Biloxi who has the experience, knowledge, and resources to help ensure that you or your loved one obtains full and fair compensation. Let’s take a closer look, so you can make an informed decision on whether to take the important step of hiring a personal injury lawyer.

A Contingency Fee Contract

Reputable personal injury lawyers typically work on a contingency fee basis. The lawyer’s fees are “contingent” on the lawyer making a successful claim, and recovering compensation on your behalf. This means that, until you accept a settlement offer with the insurance company or are awarded compensation by a Jury or the court, you will not owe your personal injury attorney anything. Your lawyer will front all the costs of pursuing your claim and standing up against the insurance company’s lawyers, and only gets paid if you win. If and only if you win, your lawyer receives a percentage of the amount recovered as his fee, and is reimbursed for out of pocket expenses spent representing you.

This arrangement levels the playing field, and removes much of the financial pressure so you can concentrate on what is most important – getting the medical care you need and recovering from your injuries. The advantages of contingency-fee agreements include all of the following:

  • Levels the playing field by allowing people who otherwise could not afford to hire a lawyer to bring their claims without fear of being pushed aside by armies of insurance company lawyers.
  • Motivates attorneys to pursue maximum compensation in each case.
  • Shifts the risk of losing time and expenses spent pursuing an unsuccessful claim from the injured person to the personal injury attorney.

If you or a loved one was injured because of someone else’s negligence, the last thing you need to worry about is how you are going to afford the cost of an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Speak with Your Personal Injury Lawyer Upfront

The best way to ensure that there are no surprises when it comes to hiring a personal injury lawyer is to speak frankly with him or her about the cost from the outset. Experienced personal injury lawyers – who are committed to providing their clients with excellent legal services at a fair rate – take it upon themselves to discuss their rates with potential clients to ensure that they understand how the payment process works, and will put everything in writing so that when and how expenses and fees may be earned or paid is transparent.

How Much Do Accident Lawyers Charge?

No two personal injury cases are ever exactly alike, but there are some cost basics that give a good handle on how much a personal injury case is likely to cost. To determine the average cost of a personal injury lawyer in Mississippi, you have to consider two things – the amount of expenses and the amount of the lawyer’s fee. Expenses represent actual out of pocket money spent by the lawyer in advancing your case. If you win, the lawyer gets reimbursed for those expenses, but does not make any profit on that. Fees represent the compensation earned by the lawyer for his or her time and services.

Common expenses in litigation include a variety of things. Filing fees in Mississippi (the cost to file a Complaint in a civil court) generally range between $100 and $500 dollars. Additional costs of litigation include things like the cost of getting copies of medical records, the cost of taking depositions, postage and paper, the cost of hiring experts or investigators, and similar costs. These costs can mount up, and may vary greatly depending on the nature of your case. An experienced Biloxi Personal Injury Attorney should be able to give you an idea of the range of expenses likely to be incurred in your case. But remember, the lawyer will advance all those costs, and is only reimbursed if you win.

In addition to expenses, the contingency fee agreement covers the amount of the lawyer’s fee. Typical contingency fees in Biloxi range between 1/3 and 40% of the total amount collected. Sometimes lawyers will enter into graduated contingency fee contracts, so that one fee is earned if your claim is settled before the suit is filed, and another (usually higher) fee is earned if the case proceeds to formal litigation. Again, those fees are only paid if you win. If the case is lost, the personal injury lawyer loses the time and money spent representing you without any reimbursement or compensation.

Your Case

While it’s helpful to understand the basics regarding how much a personal injury lawyer costs and how much one might pay in personal injury attorney fees, remember that every case is different. In addition to using contingency fee agreements, most personal injury attorneys offer free consultations. It is a good idea to take advantage of that, and talk with a lawyer about what types of fees and expenses are likely to apply to your particular case, including what types of services your lawyer would be performing. Typical services, some of which apply to every case and some only to specific cases, include such things as:

  • Thoroughly investigating your case and carefully gathering all pertinent information
  • Hiring expert witnesses to help the jury better understand the issues in your case, or to overcome legal obstacles that may stand in the way of a recovery
  • Making sure your claim is filed in a timely fashion, to ensure a procedural mishap does not make you lose any chance of recovering fair compensation
  • Compiling all available evidence and testimony into a comprehensive claim that is difficult to refute
  • Precisely identifying your physical, emotional, and financial damages
  • Zealously advocating for just compensation that covers your damages in their entirety
  • Helping you make the sometimes difficult decision regarding whether you should settle with an insurance company or you would be better served by proceeding to trial
  • Standing up to the insurance companies’ lawyers and protecting you from being taken advantage of

An Experienced Biloxi Personal Injury Attorney Can Help

If someone else’s negligence leaves you injured, reaching full recovery will likely hinge upon your ability to collect the compensation to which you are entitled. Christopher C. Van Cleave at Van Cleave Law in Biloxi is a dedicated personal injury lawyer who is committed to employing his extensive experience in his quest to help each of his clients obtain full and fair compensation at a fair and reasonable rate. Our formidable legal team is here for you, so please don’t hesitate to contact or call us at (228) 432-7826 today, or schedule your free initial consultation online at: https://www.vancleavelaw.com/contact-us/