The Costs Of Hiring A Personal Injury Lawyer In Virginia?

Personal injury cases often leave deep emotional scars on the victims that linger for years after their physical wounds have healed. While generalizing matters is not an easy thing, personal injuries cause tremendous financial and non-economic damages to the victim. Hiring a personal injury lawyer in Virginia can help.

To be harmed by someone’s negligence or indifference is a hard pill to swallow. Not only are the financial drains a huge inconvenience, but the pain and suffering caused by the personal injuries are also unbearable – the hardest part is that you were harmed by no fault of your own!

However, the law can and does offer assistance here and any competent personal injury attorney will be eager to represent you on all levels and secure a sizeable compensation for the losses associated with your personal injuries. But most people are deterred by the costs associated with pursuing the case.

This often leads people into accepting unfair settlement sums from the health insurance company of the culprit. But the legal options for people are more flexible than they’d think. You can hire a lawyer on flexible payment terms and even go through the whole legal business without worrying about not being able to pay them.

Most personal injury lawyers and other legal experts are well-acquainted with the economic and non-economic losses associated with such cases and make it a point to offer versatile payment solutions.

This article will explore the matter in adequate detail.

Hiring A Lawyer Is Not As Hard As Most Think

So, is arranging money for attorneys so hard?

Well, no.

More on that in a while, most people are often flabbergasted by events involving severe personal injuries and usually decide to handle matters on their own which is never a good idea.

People know that they ‘should’ hire professional personal injury attorneys to secure a fair settlement, but most are deterred from proceeding with this thought simply because they fear that it may not be an option for them considering their economic situation after the accident.

In reality, you can hire personal injury lawyers without having to pay them upfront. Not only are there several payment tiers available for different types of cases and the amount of work involved, but there is a great degree of flexibility too.

In short: you can find lawyers who prefer to be paid according to your preference.

Lawyers know that their clients are going through a rough patch after incidents like motorcycle accidents, thus, they make it a point to aid and assist them however possible. Your medical bills, unavoidable expenses, property damages, pain and suffering associated with your personal injuries, and the emotional toll are already too much for you.

You will find a lawyer willing to offer flexible payment options if you look hard enough.

Just be sure to seek legal counsel after an accident, as soon as possible, because your goal is to secure maximum compensation for your personal injuries and not to give in to the unreasonable demands of the insurer representing the at-fault party.

So, don’t hesitate to reach out to personal injury lawyers from a reputable firm like Virginia Injury Law and start building a solid foundation for your personal injury claim as soon as possible.

This way, if you have to go ahead with a personal injury lawsuit, you will be able to do so.

No Need To Pay Upfront: The Contingency Fee Agreement

Personal injury lawyer fees won’t keep you up at night.

In fact, you don’t even have to pay with money in advance to a personal injury lawyer.

Although the payment protocols are not universal in the legal business, most car and motorcycle accident lawyers use the contingency fee basis of payment to facilitate their clients and secure their fee as a percentage of the winnings.

This way, you will be able to get patched up and handle the mess that the accident left you in: both financially and otherwise, without having to deal with extra monetary drains. The contingency fee arrangement is almost standard, although not universal, in the personal injury law practice.

Since securing the fee is more or less an investment on your lawyer’s part, they’ll see to it that it is the most it can be. Having fixed contingency fee percentages in the winnings of their clients means that the more money they can win for their party, the more they will earn.

This is a perfect motivation for lawyers and often compels them to work harder and achieve more with your accident case. You can also rest assured about the soundness of your case because the lawyer will not have committed to handling it if it was not promising enough.

If the insurance adjuster fails to cooperate, your lawyer will file a lawsuit in the court.

You won’t have to pay your lawyer if you don’t win the claim, meaning that the lawyers will do their best to get a decision in your favor and have you awarded with maximum compensation for your acute and permanent injuries (for instance, a head injury may have life-long effects), your financial losses, and so on; this is especially true for higher-value injury cases.

However, the miscellaneous activities connected with your personal injuries case may demand a separate payment from the contingency fees. These include jury trial preparation costs, charges for getting papers copied, filing fees, expert witness fees, and so on – not covered by the contingency basis plan.

The lowest contingency fee percentage is around 10%, however, a 10-45% is the average contingency fee proportion for most lawyers – the share will be higher for more challenging cases.

It will also depend on the range of compensation sum expected out of a case.

You can decide beforehand how you’ll handle these charges, but if you wish to avoid upfront costs, then this plan is perfect.

You Can Pay By The Hour For A Personal Injury Lawyer

Some people object to the contingency fee plan despite the convenience of not having to pay upfront. They claim that the costs are a bit inflated (even though the contingency fee varies among lawyers) and that they should instead go for something more conventional and moderate.

If you can afford the injury lawyer fee and believe that your case has a solid foundation, you need not settle for a precut fraction of the compensation. Instead, you can pay the personal injury lawyer hourly for their services. Many attorneys set prefixed hourly rates and operate in this manner.

Though this payment method is not that widespread in the personal injury realm, it is highly popular in the big picture as it offers more fair terms to the clients. You’ll only have to pay for the work done and nothing extra.

All that you have to do is to sign a deposit and keep track of your lawyer’s progress, releasing fractions of the fund based on the number of hours spent on your work. Once this deposit dries out, you can either place another deposit or switch to some other payment arrangement (most probably monthly bills).

If you can afford to hire a team of attorneys for your accident case, then there’s no reason for you to lose a chunk of your winnings (you’ll have to be sure that your case is solid enough), and instead go for payments by the hour.

Hourly Payment Considerations For A Personal Injury Lawyer

Many personal injury lawyers prefer to set predefined costs irrespective of the outcome. Of course, this does not mean that they will not work hard enough for your case or not get fair compensation for you. But you will have to brush through the lawyer’s work history and reputation before putting your trust in them.

If the hourly rate is inconveniently high, it will be construed as an ethical violation and the bar may put sanctions on the lawyer.

You’ll have to decide the hourly rate before taking matters any further, here are some considerations to keep in mind:

  • The effort and dedication demanded by your case/situation
  • Complications, missing links, or other inconsistencies making your case harder to handle
  • Degree of skills needed for handling your case effectively
  • Time demanded by your work and whether the lawyer will be able to take up other work or not
  • The average cost of such projects in the legal business
  • The financial stakes involved in your case
  • All possible results of your case (especially how likely you are to win)
  • Any strict time limits that may force the lawyer to work over-time
  • The professional image and reputation of the lawyer in question (someone with decades of experience is not likely to settle for a nominal fee)
  • Whether you’ve had a professional liaison with the said lawyer before or not

Once you’ve gone through all of these considerations, you’ll be better equipped to decide on a fair hourly rate settlement.

Which Plan Is Better?

Both payment solutions are highly popular and very practical. You can go for one or the other, based on your financial condition at the time. Most people prefer a contingency payment plan because it eliminates the need for them to pay upfront and they also don’t have to dig into their savings.

A predefined fraction of their winnings will automatically go to the lawyer, and you won’t have any obligations to the lawyer if you don’t win (except some minor expenses).

However, others object to this plan because the lawyer fees are much higher with this plan, and then there are other expenses too.

The hourly payment method ensures that you pay your lawyer for the work they’ve done and nothing more. Of course, this is only possible when you have the financial stability to hire the services of a lawyer when disaster strikes.

Both plans have their pros and cons, and you will find injury law firms offering both solutions, think well before finalizing your decision.

The Virginia Injury Law Law Firm Offers Flexible Payment Solutions

You should never delay seeking legal counsel after an accident, even if minor. If you’re worried about not being able to afford a lawyer or inflexibility in the payment plans, then brush your worries aside and feel free to reach out to us.

At the Virginia Injury Law personal injury law firm, we believe in offering personalized legal services to our clients and helping them with their financial troubles. Our accident attorneys will fight your case with utmost dedication and will not put any pressure/burden on you about the payments.

If you don’t win, you don’t pay – we’re this much confident about our work!

The consultation is free so don’t hesitate to call us.