What Might it Cost To Hire a Louisiana Lawyer For a Shreveport Tractor-Trailer Accident?
Generally, there is no fee owed when you hire a Louisiana 18-wheeler accident lawyer to handle a personal injury case if there is no insurance settlement or civil litigation judgment. Here at the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams, we work to maximize the recovery for our clients who have been injured in Shreveport, Louisiana, tractor-trailer accidents.
We handle our personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay no attorney fee unless we recover on your behalf. If we recover on your behalf, our attorney fees are paid from the settlement or judgment amount. Contact us if you have been injured in a big rig accident here in Shreveport. You may benefit from hiring hardworking and committed Louisiana accident lawyers to help maximize your recovery.
What is a contingency fee in Caddo Parish, Louisiana?
Louisiana attorneys charge for legal services in several different ways. Often, services are charged on an hourly basis. For each hour of work, the client is invoiced at the agreed-upon fee level. That fee is often several hundred dollars an hour.
Another method of billing is flat fee billing. This is often negotiated for bulk and repetitive legal services like sending copyright violation notices and things of that nature.
The third type of typical lawyer billing is called contingency fee billing. As noted, the client and the attorney agree that no attorney fees are due if the case is not resolved with a recovery. If there is success in the lawsuit (or success in settlement negotiations), the attorney fees are taken from the amount obtained through the lawsuit and/or the settlement. This process is why the attorney fees are called "contingent." The fees are contingent upon success in the case.
This fee process is common for personal injury lawsuits like big rig and 18-wheeler accidents here in Louisiana.
How much are the contingency fees in Shreveport, LA 18-wheeler cases?
Attorney fees in contingency fee cases are generally based on a percentage of the award or settlement. A common percentage is one-third (approximately 33.33%) if the matter is settled before a lawsuit must be filed, and 40% if there is no insurance settlement and a lawsuit must be filed. Sometimes, there is a further increase in the percentage if victory only comes after the case is appealed to a higher court.
As an example, assume a big-rig injury case here in Louisiana is settled for $600,000. Under a standard contingency fee agreement, the attorneys' fees would be $200,000, leaving $400,000 for the client, medical bills, and expenses of litigation for reimbursement.
What about costs and litigation expenses?
A contingency fee may state that any costs or litigation expenses advanced and paid by the attorneys will be reimbursed and that the attorney fee is based on the entirety of the recovery. In our prior example of a Louisiana 18-wheeler accident case that settles for $600,000, if the attorneys spent $12,000 hiring an accident reconstruction expert to explain how the accident occurred, that $12,000 would be reimbursed to the attorneys. Also, the 33.33% attorneys' fee would be calculated on the entire recovery amount ($600,000). That would result in an attorney's fee of $200,000, and expenses of $12,000 to be reimbursed to the attorneys.
Contact A Louisiana Personal Injury Attorney Today
For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams. If you have been injured in a Louisiana accident, our Louisiana personal injury lawyers can help you recover the full compensation you are entitled to according to Louisiana law. To contact us, complete our "Contact Us" page here. We have experience and legal knowledge that can help you. We have offices in Shreveport and handle personal injury cases throughout all of Louisiana. Thank you for reading this blog post and visiting our website.