Many accident victims are reluctant to approach a personal injury attorney because they are unsure of the cost. Even when the victim knows they have a strong case against the person who caused their injuries, they still hold back on even speaking with a lawyer. After all, if a person is struggling to pay their medical bills and daily living expenses following an accident, how could they possibly afford to hire a lawyer?
Fortunately, most Illinois personal injury lawyers, including the team here at Tuite Law, handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. Here, too, there is often a degree of misunderstanding as to how such fee arrangements work. While every personal injury case is obviously different, this post will provide a general explanation of what contingency fees are, and more specifically, how they work in Illinois personal injury cases.
How Contingency Fees Work in Illinois
Generally speaking, there are three ways that a client pays for legal services in Illinois:
- fixed fees
- hourly fees
- contingent fees
A fixed fee means the attorney and client agree upfront how much the attorney will be paid for their work, regardless of how long it actually takes. In contrast, an hourly fee means that the attorney and their staff will keep track of the hours spent on a client’s case and present regular bills for their time based upon agreed-upon hourly rates. (Generally, the attorney’s time is billed at a higher rate than members of their support staff.)
Contingent fees are most commonly used in personal injury cases. The basic idea is simple. Rather than charge a fixed or hourly fee, the attorney does not charge the client at all unless they recover compensation on the client’s behalf, either by winning at trial or negotiating a settlement. If that contingency is met, the client agrees to pay the attorney a predetermined percentage of their compensation as the lawyer’s fee.
For example, say you hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you in a car accident case. You sign a contingency fee agreement to pay the attorney 25 percent of any compensation recovered. The attorney proceeds to win a jury verdict of $300,000. Under your contingency fee agreement, the attorney would then receive 25 percent of that amount, or $75,000.
Now this is a very simple hypothetical example. Some contingency fee agreements include provisions to deduct litigation-related expenses prior to calculating the attorney’s final fee. The agreement may also provide for different percentages based on certain outcomes, such as a negotiated settlement versus a trial verdict. It is therefore important to discuss a personal injury lawyer’s contingency fee arrangement up front before hiring them to represent you.
Contact a Rockford Personal Injury Lawyer Today
Contingency fees are not appropriate, or even legal, in every type of case. The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct governing lawyers bar contingency fee arrangements in criminal defense and divorce cases, for instance. But if you are looking for a qualified Rockford personal injury lawyer, a contingency fee arrangement can help you seek justice without compromising your already precarious financial situation.
To learn more or to speak with an attorney about your case, contact Tuite Law today at (815) 965-5777 to schedule a free consultation.
