22 May

How Much Does A Car Accident Lawyer Cost?

Florida Law Group Car Accidents, General, Personal Injury

“How much does a car accident lawyer cost?” is one of the most frequently searched questions related to car accidents in Florida.

It’s a valid question – everyone wants to know when they’ve been in an accident if they can afford to pay for a car accident lawyer or not! Florida is one of the worst states for driving, and every single day there are thousands of collisions across the state. There are also thousands of car accident attorneys advertising their services on billboards everywhere, promising to get the insurance companies to pay you what you really deserve!

But because car accidents are so expensive – the average cost being somewhere in the ballpark of nearly $5,000 if only vehicle damage occurred and $20,000 if injuries were sustained – most people don’t want to pay even more for a car accident lawyer. Actually, most people think they can’t afford it (even though they can!)

But how much do they cost? The short answer is that it depends on what the car accident was like.

Key takeaways:

A car accident lawyer doesn’t cost you anything (mostly) if you lose
These types of attorneys charge a percentage of your winnings, so your case value impacts how much they cost
A few factors can impact how much they get paid
Anyone can afford representation!

Understanding How Car Accident Lawyers Get Paid

Car accident lawyers in Florida typically structure their fees on a contingency fee basis. This means that they are paid as a percentage of the case’s value. You actually don’t have to pay them anything upfront in terms of legal fees, which is great news – they work for you essentially for free until they win, or they don’t! If they don’t, you don’t have to pay their legal fees. If they do win, their fee is that they get a percentage of the settlement they win.

Every car accident lawyer is different, but most firms take anywhere from 30-40%, with the most common being 33%.

So, for example, if you hired an attorney after a car crash and they got you a $50,000 settlement, and they charged 33% contingency, they would end up with $16,500, and you would walk away with (most) of the other $33,500, minus things like expert witness fees and court filing fees if applicable.

This may seem like a steep cut except when you consider that working with an attorney means that you are much more likely to get a higher settlement. On your own, in that scenario, you may have not even been able to recover $15,000; the amount you end up with because an attorney is representing you is almost double.

One study showed that participants who hired a lawyer walked away with an average of $77,600 compared to an average of $17,600 for those who represented themselves – a whopping $60,000 difference!

The cost of hiring a car accident lawyer is definitely worth it, when you consider that perspective.

However, because every car accident is different, here are some of the factors that can influence how much a getting a car accident lawyer will cost you:

The Answer To “How Much Does A Car Accident Lawyer Cost?” Depends On….

The severity of your injuries –

Primarily, the value of your case (and how much legal help will cost) lies in how badly you were hurt. If you suffered minor, temporary injuries, your case may not be worth much, but if you suffered extreme injuries, or permanent injuries, you deserve compensation to reflect that. Your lawyer will pursue it, and the higher the payout, the more they get paid.

For example, if you suffered a traumatic brain injury after a drunk driver hit you head on, your case might be worth $400,000; if your lawyer gets 33% of that, they would be making $132,000. If you endured a herniated disc in your lower back though, maybe your case is worth $70,000, and your lawyer would make about $23,000.

Whether or not your case goes to trial –

The majority of car accident injury cases settle out of court. Your car accident lawyer negotiates with the insurance company for an amount that reflects the total value of your injuries. Your insurer will likely attempt to devalue this amount, and then your car accident lawyer will try to increase it, so you will land somewhere in the middle, with an offer that’s acceptable to both you and your attorney (this is rarely the first offer they present).

However, if your case goes to trial, it’s going to take a lot longer to resolve, and there will be a few extra fees you may have to pay on top of your attorney fee (like the court filing and expert witness fees mentioned above). Your attorney may also increase their contingency fee to reflect the extra energy and time. But, you will likely end up with a much higher payout. A trial is risky, but if you win, juries and judges often award much more in damages than an insurance company would settle for.

This means that your lawyer will “cost” more – their percentage may stay the same, or it may rise, but their earnings will either way be a bigger piece of the pie – and it also means that you will walk away with more, provided your case is successful.

In A Car Accident? Call The Florida Law Group!

On the fence about hiring a car accident lawyer? Want to know how much they cost first? It’s completely free to talk with most attorneys before you start working with them, and that’s true with us as well! The Florida Law Group has spent over 38 years serving injured car accident victims in Florida. We offer free consultations so you can learn more about our fee structure (which is contingency-based!) and about our winning track record. To date, we’ve recovered over $1 billion for our clients!

We believe that everyone deserves quality legal guidance, no matter how much they make or what their socioeconomic status is. You can afford our help! Call today to schedule your free consult.