How Much is a Personal Injury Lawyer Payout?

Recovering from the injuries caused by another person's negligent behavior can be overwhelming in and of itself, but covering the incurred expenses related to that injury can be an unfortunate additional stressor for a recent accident victim.

Being concerned about your personal injury lawyer payout only amplifies this stress unnecessarily. Scheduling a consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer is the best way to verify the personal injury lawyer payout that will apply in your case.

Typical payouts are quite different from other cases that lawyers handle. For example, if you visited with an estate planning attorney, they would likely give you an upfront cost for the expenses associated with the creation of a will. Likewise, if you saw a DUI lawyer, they might quote you an upfront cost or give you a range inside a retainer based on the amount of time they have to spend on your case. In these circumstances, you know exactly upfront how much money you need to come up with in order to start working with a lawyer.

Experienced attorneys serve an injured person by fighting as hard as possible for an amount of money that would help that victim move on with their lives. If you or a loved one has experienced such an injury, you can complete a free, no-risk case evaluation to get more information.

Understanding the Attorney-Client Relationship 

When hiring an attorney for a personal injury claim, however, the situation is completely different. A personal injury lawyer payout is usually based on a contingency fee basis. This means that upfront you likely do not have to come up with any funds to hire your injury attorney. The purpose for doing this is to allow you to focus on your recovery and for the lawyer to receive payment on the back end of the case, such as if it ever settles or you win in court. In most cases, your maximum personal injury lawyer payout amount would be 40% of the total case income.

This is a big reason why a personal injury lawyer needs to meet with you during an initial consultation. Not only will you learn more about the potential personal injury lawyer payout but this is your lawyer's opportunity to ask pertinent questions about the case and to decide if it appears that you have enough grounds for them to proceed.

What is the Lawyer's Role in a Personal Injury Case?

The lawyer's entire role in a personal injury case certainly affects the personal injury lawyer payout although the amount of the payout will be based as a percentage and is chosen upfront when you decide to work with the attorney. An attorney has to put in a significant amount of work in order to prepare your case for settlement or trial. While it is certainly possible that they may resolve it in settlement negotiations outside of court, your lawyer also has to be prepared for the possibility that you may wind up in trial.

In these circumstances, your lawyer is the one putting forth all of the effort in preparing the case, including gathering the evidence, deciding on the strategy to pursue, taking depositions, and more. While you will not have to worry about paying your attorney on an hourly basis, you may be responsible for paying expenses, such as money that they spend shipping documents or making copies. The rest of your personal injury lawyer payout is taken care of at the back end of the case. Whether it's a car accident case, medical malpractice, a motorcycle accident claim, property damage, or wrongful death, accident lawyers know the lay of the land and help a victim navigate it. 

In addition to representing you in settlement and in court, your lawyer can help you get medical records for your severe injuries, determine an amount of compensation the insurer should consider based on the severity of your injuries, explain how things like multipliers impact your likelihood of recovery, and keep you informed about the value of your case. 

Typical Personal Injury Lawyer Payout Amounts

During your initial consultation, you will discuss with your attorney the personal injury lawyer payouts associated with your case. They will hear the basic facts about the circumstances of your accident and injury and give you a contract to sign if they believe that you have grounds for your case and if you are within the state's statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is the formal time limit within which you must file an injury case in order to recover compensation as a victim. 

Your attorney's personal injury lawyer payout will usually be between 25% and 35% of the total amount of the settled case. This means that you do not have to pay your lawyer attorney's fees if they are unsuccessful in recovering a settlement. It is also equally important, however, to remember that based on the percentage that you assign, you think when a settlement offer has been presented to you whether or not the remaining amount after paying your attorney would be sufficient to pay for your damages and other expenses.

Do I Still Have to Pay if My Lawyer Doesn't Win? 

One of the main reasons that this form of personal injury lawyer payout is so helpful for injury victims is that they already have enough to worry about in the wake of a serious accident. Thinking about how to pay their attorney when they are already buried in medical bills and trying to figure out how or if they'll be able to go back to work is too much to bear. 

Attorneys help them through this difficult time by enabling them to focus on their medical treatments while the lawyer handles the legal aspects of their case. If and when the case settles or resolves in trial, the check that is cut from the insurance company or other at fault party will come up first for the lawyer's fees to be subtracted out of and then passed on to you. 

This arrangement works well for so many personal injury victims because it gives them additional confidence that their lawyer is working as hard as possible to get a positive outcome in their case. If the lawyer negotiated a too low settlement just to get a case over with, they stand to lose money as well. This is one of the biggest reasons why a personal injury lawyer payout is always based on a contingency fee. 

If the lawyer doesn't achieve a positive result at all, you are only responsible for the expenses incurred in the case like the shipping and copying mentioned above. Obviously since there wouldn't be an award to pay to you, there is no personal injury lawyer payout in that type of case.

Why Do I Even Need a Personal Injury Attorney? 

The facts of your accident case might seem relatively cut and dry to you but these cases often have the involvement of extensive insurance adjustor review and can even lead to low ball settlements or denied claims. The last thing you want as an injury victim is to go up against an insurance company, a hospital or the legal defense team hired by the at-fault party. In these circumstances, you could find yourself in way over your head and unable to negotiate the fair and full settlement offer that you deserve. This is one of the biggest reasons to retain a personal injury attorney who has extensive experience in this field. 

Your lawyer will know the trajectory of similar cases and be able to advise you with what you are experiencing so that you can make informed decisions. Imagine, for example, that you are not familiar with medical terminology or impacts and your insurance company comes to you with a $200,000 settlement. 

As an injury victim, you have no idea whether that's fair or whether that will compensate you for the years of medical treatments you have ahead of you. Your injury lawyer, however, will know about similar payouts in other cases and will make a decision based on the specifics of your circumstances about whether or not that is fair. They will also know the common tactics of insurance agencies as far as refusing to connect with you and minimizing or denying your claim. Having an advocate like this in your corner can be instrumental in helping you to recover not just physically but emotionally as well.

If you're facing experienced personal injury defense lawyers or an insurance company after something like a truck accident, you want to be just as prepared with your own case. 

What Factors are Taken Into a Personal Injury Settlement? 

Of course, no personal injury lawyer payout happens if you don't receive a settlement or a jury award. Courts evaluate many different factors in personal injury cases to decide what will be awarded to the injured party or the surviving family members of someone who was killed. This can include factors, such as the severity of the injuries, the impact of the injuries on the victim's work life, such as lost wages, the extent of the medical expenses that have already been incurred and are expected to be incurred in the future and many more such as pain and suffering and loss of consortium. 

The specifics of your individual case and your state's laws will help you determine what factors will get you to this ultimate settlement out of which your personal injury lawyer payout will be made. If you are thinking about how to move on with your life after a devastating accident, you need the support of a dedicated and experienced personal injury lawyer. Handling this on your own adds too much stress and ignores the complexity of these injuries; a law firm can play a critical role in removing that stress. 

Your future is at stake and finding an attorney who can help explain your personal injury lawyer payout to you at the outset of your case will give you clarity over the settlement amounts presented to you and how much this would allow you to move on with your life as well as to how your attorney will be paid for your services.   
When you or a loved one is in need of legal representation, discuss the specific type of accident with an attorney directly. The settlement value of your claim certainly won't make you whole or return you to the lifestyle you had before the accident, it can help you determine what your new future looks like and give you the support to get there. 

If you or a loved one has been injured and you want to explore your options, complete a free, no-risk case evaluation to get more information.