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Q1: |
My attorney wants me to sign a contingency fee agreement, what is it? |
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A1: |
Most personal injury lawyers use a contingent fee agreement (rather than an agreement calling for a flat fee for specified services, or for an hourly rate). The reasons are generally two-fold:
The contingency fee provides the attorney a source of payment. The typical client--particularly one who has sustained severe injury--cannot afford to reimburse a lawyer for services rendered, unless he or she obtains a damages recovery from the adverse party (by judgment or settlement). In other words, the damages recovery provides a fund from which attorney’s fees can be paid; but if there were no recovery, claimant might be unable financially to pay the fees. Contingent fee contracts therefore assure representation to a party who otherwise might have to forego needed legal services.
Here are some advantages to contingency fees:
You do not get a bill every month. No matter how long the case drags on, no matter how much work your attorney is required to put into the case, you never have to go pay attorney’s fees (you will probably be required to pay out of pocket costs, but those are usually minimal in comparison). By accepting your matter on a contingency fee basis, your lawyer is betting he or she can resolve your case quickly, so that he or she maximizes his or her fee. The longer the case takes, the more advantageous a contingency fee is to the client. |
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Q2: |
What steps can I expect to occur on my personal injury case and how long do they take? |
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A2: |
is an estimated timetable. Remember, this is hypothetical only. Your case might be very different, but this represents typical progression:
Phase 1 - First period of time (days to a few weeks):
Meet with attorney, provide him or her with all the information (i.e. police reports, photographs, estimates, medical bills, records, etc.), enter into an agreement with the attorney. A letter of representation is then sent to insurance carrier for the defendant giving them notice of the claim. Usually, the insurance company representative will respond and request information about the accident and request that a recorded statement be taken of the client. Also during this time, the lawyer will attempt to resolve any property damage claim with the defendant’s insurance carrier. The property damage claim would include any and all bills for storage, towing and rental of your vehicle. This should be done as soon as possible to avoid additional car related expenses.
Phase 2 - Second period of time (1 days to several months):
Medical Treatment. Because there are so many variables, it is hard to give a definite answer for this phase of a personal injury case. Many times, individuals are able to recover more rapidly than others based on the age and severity of the specific injury.
Phase 3 - Discovery, Investigation, and Pretrial (usually between 6 months and a year, but can be even more)
At this phase your attorney can demand on the defendant to answer questions and produce certain documents that relate to your case. The insurance company attorney has the same right to demand you answer the same types of demands. Each side has the right to make demands on non-parties to produce documents and/or appear to have their deposition or examination under oath or before trial taken. This is where the testimony or a party or witness is recorded, under oath, by a stenographer (court reporter).
Most often in personal injury cases, the insurance company hires a doctor (whom they have hired before) perform a medical evaluation of your injuries. Invariably, the doctor the insurance company hires to perform the examination claims a lack of injury. In the unusual event the doctor does find an injury he or she claims that it was unrelated to the accident in question.
Other events may occur during the pretrial phase. The court may order you to go to non-binding or binding arbitration, a settlement conference, or mediation as alternative dispute resolution process to see if the matter can be resolved without trial. At any time during this phase, or any other phase, the parties are free to, and in fact encouraged to negotiate between themselves or through their attorneys in an effort to settle the case.
Phase 4 - The Trial (1 - 5 days)
Finally, your trial date arrives. Trials require a substantial amount of preparation. Parties together with their attorneys must prepare joint lists of witnesses to be called, documents to be offered into evidence, and all other matters to be presented at trial in advance. Most personal injury trials are short, non-jury trials that last at present very complicating factors and a jury is requested. |
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Q3: |
What if I am involved in an accident an the other driver does not have insurance? |
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A3: |
Not to worry.
states have enacted laws which require automobile liability insurance companies to offer coverage designed to compensate insured party (or their heirs or legal representatives) for bodily injury or wrongful death inflicted by the owner or operator of an "uninsured vehicle." |
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