How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost With Morgan & Morgan in Atlanta?
Key Takeaways
- Personal injury lawyers may use contingency fee agreements instead of requiring upfront attorney’s fees.
- Attorney’s fees and case-related expenses are different, and both can affect the amount you ultimately receive from a settlement or verdict.
- A written fee agreement should explain how fees and expenses are handled throughout the case and after compensation is recovered.
- Morgan & Morgan offers free case evaluations and can explain how attorney’s fees and case expenses may apply if we take your Atlanta personal injury case.
Injured?
Understanding Contingency Fees, Case Expenses, and Your Recovery
After an accident, the cost of hiring a personal injury lawyer may be one of your first concerns. Understanding how legal fees work can help you make an informed decision about whether to hire a lawyer.
Morgan & Morgan offers free case evaluations for people injured in Atlanta. Our team can review what happened, discuss your injuries and losses, and determine whether we may be able to help.
If Morgan & Morgan takes your personal injury case, attorney’s fees are generally handled through a contingency fee arrangement rather than requiring you to pay upfront attorney’s fees. How that arrangement works and what you may pay are important things to understand before hiring a lawyer.
How Contingency Fee Agreements Work
If Morgan & Morgan takes your personal injury case, we generally work on a contingency fee basis. That means you do not pay upfront attorney’s fees.
If we recover compensation for you through a settlement or verdict, the attorney’s fee is calculated as a percentage of that recovery according to the fee agreement you sign. If we do not recover compensation for you, you do not pay an attorney’s fee.
Some personal injury claims can be resolved through negotiations, while others may require litigation. If further legal action becomes necessary, your legal team can prepare the case for that process and continue pursuing a resolution based on the facts, evidence, and circumstances involved.
Attorney’s Fees and Case Expenses
Attorney’s fees and case-related expenses are not necessarily the same thing. Under a contingency fee agreement, attorney’s fees are generally based on a percentage of the compensation recovered. A personal injury case may also involve expenses associated with investigating, preparing, or litigating the claim. Depending on the case, those expenses may include:
- Court filing fees
- Costs for obtaining medical records and other documents
- Deposition and court reporter expenses
- Expert witness fees
- Costs related to accident reconstruction, exhibits, or other evidence
How these expenses are handled can depend on the terms of the fee agreement. Before hiring a lawyer, you should understand which expenses you may be responsible for, when they may be paid, and how they may affect the amount you ultimately receive from a settlement or verdict.
Settlement, Trial, and Your Final Recovery
Some personal injury cases are resolved through settlement negotiations, while others may proceed to litigation or trial. Whether a case settles or goes further can depend on the evidence, disputed issues, the positions of the parties, and the amount of compensation being offered.
The contingency fee agreement should explain how attorney’s fees and case expenses are handled if the case settles or proceeds through litigation. Reviewing those terms at the beginning of the representation can help you understand how different stages of the case may affect your recovery.
After compensation is recovered, certain amounts may need to be addressed before the remaining funds are distributed. Depending on the case, these may include attorney’s fees, case expenses, medical liens, or other valid reimbursement claims.
Your legal team can review these obligations, address applicable liens or claims when appropriate, and explain how the final distribution is calculated.
Understanding the Fee Agreement Before You Hire a Lawyer
Before hiring Morgan & Morgan, you can ask questions about the contingency fee agreement, including how attorney’s fees and case expenses are handled. The agreement should explain the terms of the representation so you can understand how fees and costs may affect any recovery.
If circumstances arise that could create additional case expenses, your legal team can explain what those expenses involve and how they are addressed under the terms of your agreement.
Your case evaluation is free. If you were injured in Atlanta and have questions about the cost of hiring a personal injury lawyer, contact Morgan & Morgan today for a free case evaluation.
