One of the reasons so many accident victims don’t call a Georgia personal injury attorney is that they’re afraid it will cost them an arm and a leg. Even with all the commercials on television these days telling people they can enjoy a free consultation, people are skeptical. We understand that. Nobody today believes that you can get something for free. However, there’s a good reason why we offer our clients a free, initial consultation. It gives you a chance to ask any questions you may have. It also allows our personal injury attorneys in Georgia a chance to see if they want to handle your case.
What people don’t always realize is that, not only is there initial consultation free, but they don’t pay anything until their case is settled. This may seem a bit strange. After all – who works for free? The reason we’re able to do this is because we’re confident we’ll win your case or get you a fair settlement. Since our associates operate on a contingency basis, they understand that they receive nothing if you don’t win your case.
Here, we’ll discuss how much it costs to hire a Georgia personal injury attorney. We will also explain how a contingency arrangement works. Finally, we’ll briefly discuss how your settlement proceeds are dispersed.
You Don’t Pay Your Personal Injury Attorney in Georgia Anything Upfront
One of the great things about hiring a personal injury attorney in Georgia is that you don’t have to pay anything upfront. The way your attorney is paid is on a contingency basis. Essentially, your attorney doesn’t receive a dime until your case settles.
When you first retain an attorney, you’ll be asked to sign a contingency fee agreement. This agreement will outline how your lawyer is paid. Usually, unless your case goes to trial, you’ll pay 33% of whatever your settlement is. So, if you settle for $500,000, your Georgia personal injury attorney would receive $166,500.
If your case goes much deeper than an early settlement, the fee will go up to 40%. There are several reasons for this, and we’ll discuss them in detail below.
Why Does Your Attorney’s Fee Increase to 40% if Your Case Goes to Trial?
When clients first retain our firm to represent them, we agree that the contingency fee will be 33%. However, we also explain, and the agreement reads, that if we need to file suit and go to trial, the rate will increase to 40%.
You have to understand that, if your lawyer needs to go to trial on your behalf, they won’t be able to handle other cases. Normally, a personal injury attorney in Georgia would be able to handle several cases at a time. Sometimes, they are working on dozens of cases during any given month. If they need to dedicate most of their working hours to your case, they have no choice but to charge a higher rate.
The other reason why the contingency rate goes up is that there will a lot more work involved if your case goes to trial. They’ll have to handle discovery with the defendant’s lawyer. They’ll also have to depose witnesses and meet with expert witnesses. These things not only cost money, but they also take a lot of time. The only way to make up for the income your attorney will lose is to charge a fair but slightly higher contingency fee.
How Are Your Settlement Proceeds Paid Out?
Once your case settles, your attorney will be paid their contingency fee. For purposes of this article, we will assume the rate is 40%. Imagine you settle your case for $500,000. Your attorney’s fee will come right off the top. So, since 40% of $500,000 is $200,000, your settlement proceeds will be reduced to $300,000.
Out of this remaining amount, you will have to pay back any costs and filing fees your Georgia personal injury attorney spent on your case. Let’s say this comes to a total of $20,000. This will leave you with $280,000.
Out of this $280,000, you’ll have to pay back any monies paid out by your health insurance carrier on medical treatment. This may be nothing. In fact, your settlement may stipulate that a certain amount of money is earmarked to pay back these medical bills.
Once these bills are paid, along with any other outstanding bills, the rest of the settlement proceeds are yours.
Why Do We Offer You a Free Initial Consultation?
It may seem strange that a Georgia personal injury attorney would spend their time meeting with a potential client for free. However, there are several reasons why we do this. First, it gives you a chance to sit down with an experienced attorney who can answer any questions you may have about your case.
Another reason why a free consultation is in everyone’s best interests is that we get a chance to see how strong your case is. We can also look to see if you’re in danger of missing the Georgia statute of limitations period. Since you only have two years to file suit in Georgia, we need to determine if there’s enough time to prepare your case.
One final reason why we like to meet with our potential clients for free is that it gives us a chance to see how we interact with a prospective client. If it seems as if they’re holding something back or they don’t engage in the conversation, we may be reluctant to represent them. If, however, they’re open and prepared and have plenty of questions for us, it shows that they take their case seriously.
Contact an Experienced Georgia Personal Injury AttorneyRight Away
It’s important to know that you aren’t legally required to hire a personal injury attorney in Georgia. If you want to handle your personal injury case yourself, there’s nothing stopping you from doing so. However, if you want the best chance of recovering damages, you’ll want a Georgia personal injury attorney by your side.
We recommend that you at least meet with an experienced lawyer and see what they have to say. If, after your initial consultation, you still don’t think you need a Georgia personal injury attorney, that’s fine. Just don’t make any rash decisions in the weeks following your injury.
Call today and schedule your free, initial consultation. Since it is free, you have nothing to lose.
