How Much Will It Cost to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?

The financial impact of a car accident can be devastating. When the injuries and repercussions are the faults of a negligent party, it only makes the entire situation much more frustrating. However, personal injury attorneys dedicate their careers to helping victims of careless drivers get the financial compensation and emotional support they need to get back to the lives they had before the accident. Most of them provide their services on a contingency fee basis.

What Is a Contingency Fee?

The purpose of a contingency fee arrangement is to ensure you receive the legal help you need to recover your losses without the added burden of upfront legal fees. The attorney will provide their services on the basis that you only pay if they win your case for you. Once you receive compensation, they remove the previously agreed-upon amount from your final settlement secured through negotiations or the final verdict secured through court.

Advantages of a Contingency Fee Agreement

The benefits start when a car accident lawyer offers to take your case. Because their financial stake rests on their ability to secure your payment, you already know they would not take the cause unless they are confident in their ability to win. Other advantages of the contingency fee policy include the following:

You know your attorney is motivated to win.
Your attorney will personally benefit from ensuring you recover all available damages in your case.
You can get the legal advice you need from a professional regardless of your financial status.

The bottom line is that everyone deserves the chance to recover all their losses following a devastating car accident without adding to their financial strain. The contingency fee process offers peace of mind and will typically lead to faster and fairer compensation.

What Does a Car Accident Lawyer Do for Your Case?

When you hire a car accident lawyer to handle your case, you have the opportunity to focus on healing your injuries and getting your life back to normal, while a legal professional handles all the tedious and sometimes frustrating elements of building a solid auto accident case. Examples of the work they do include:

Reconstructing and investigating the accident to find relevant evidence
Identifying the economic and non-economic losses associated with your accident and injuries
Completing and filing all the paperwork necessary to file your insurance claim
Gathering all the evidence needed to prove your claim of another party’s negligence and your claims for damages
Drafting a demand letter that details all the findings from the investigation and the evidence you have to support it
Handling all the back and forth with the insurance company so you can avoid the frustration
Guiding you through the legal process and advising you through each step of negotiations
Preparing the documentation and evidence you need for a trial in the rear instance that settling does not happen

Your attorney becomes a close confidant. They understand the hardships that car accident victims face and can offer compassion. Their job is to fight aggressively for you and ensure you have every opportunity to recover your losses and rebuild what was taken from you.

What Is Included in the Final Settlement or Award?

The final settlement in a car accident lawsuit reflects all the losses you are able to recover. The purpose of a personal injury claim is to allow you to hold the at-fault party accountable by requiring them to pay financial compensation for everything their negligence caused, including the psychological damage a car accident can cause. Since you are filing the claim against the other driver, you are responsible for providing sufficient evidence for every loss listed in your demand letter. The law divides these losses into economic and non-economic damages. Under rare and specific circumstances, you may also be able to secure punitive damages.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are, as the name implies, designed to compensate for something. They include all your physical, emotional, and financial losses traced directly to the accident and your injuries. The economic damages specifically refer to your monetary and physical losses. In contrast, the non-economic damages are intangible and reflect the compensation owed to you for the emotional damage caused by the other driver’s negligence.

Monetary Losses

The most common example of monetary damage from a car accident is the cost of repairing your car or replacing it if it is irreparable. The most tedious monetary loss to prove includes all the medical expenses related to your injuries. Examples include:

The cost of emergency care from first responders and the hospital emergency department expenses
Surgeries, prescription medicines, and medical devices
Future treatments for ongoing health concerns
Rehabilitative care
In-house help with daily chores or childcare
Transportation to medical visits

You can also claim the wages you lost due to missed work or losing your capacity to earn the income you earned before the accident. Again, your attorney will gather the evidence needed to prove these losses, a process that often takes up the most time.

Intangible Losses

Intangible losses are the non-economic damages that prove your accident’s negative impact on your life. Examples include:

The physical pain and suffering caused by your injuries
The emotional pain and suffering caused by the accident and the stress of undergoing medical treatments
The mental anguish that can cause anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder
The loss of your ability to enjoy life
The loss of consortium, depending on whether the accident or your injuries impacted your relationship with your spouse

These losses can amount to substantially more than economic damages. For this reason, having an experienced car accident attorney is an asset for your case.

Punitive Damages

In cases involving evidence of gross negligence or malicious intention, the court may deem it necessary to punish the defendant by requiring them to pay punitive damages. This type of damage does not compensate for any loss you incurred. Instead, the purpose is to act as a punishment and deterrent for the defendant. While rare, in most car accident cases, your attorney will help you understand whether you could be eligible based on the details of your case.

When Should You Schedule a Consultation With a Car Accident Lawyer?

The stakes are high when you suffer a severe injury from a car accident. Economic losses can compile while you struggle with the emotional impact of a devastating accident. However, hiring a car accident lawyer is about much more than getting the compensation you need. It is also about having someone on your side that understands the burdens you face and can help relieve the stress of building a case and battling an insurance company. Car accident lawyers offer their services on contingency because they firmly believe everyone deserves adequate legal representation when so much rides on winning the case.

The team of practiced car accident lawyers at Johnson Attorneys Group can help you build a case for a faster, fairer settlement. We understand the significance of qualified legal advice and offer our services at no upfront cost. Our confidence in our legal knowledge and our track record in personal injury cases allows us to take on clients without the fear that our hard work will be in vain. If you suffered an injury or lost someone important in your life because of a negligent driver, contact Johnson Attorneys Group at (800) 208-3538 to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer today.