Portland injury attorney

Guide to Vehicle Accident Law Firm Fees

Whenever anyone gets involved in an auto accident, there is a good chance that that person will need to retain the assistance of a vehicle accident law firm; especially if there have been any injuries that have occurred due to the accident.  This time may be extremely stressful for involved parties, which can be made even worse by the onslaught of information that these people will need to review and consider in order to know what decisions to make and how to proceed with any personal injury claims.

If you are one of these people who have suffered an injury due to a vehicle accident and are considering filing a suit or making a claim, there is one thing in particular that you will need to understand completely before moving forward with a vehicle accident law firm or a Portland personal injury lawyer:  there are fees associated with their representation of you in your claim.

A personal injury lawyer is someone who will represent you in your claim if you have been injured (whether it be a psychological or physical injury) as a result of wrongdoing or negligence on the part of another person, company, or entity.  Depending on the type of personal injury lawyer or vehicle accident law firm that you meet with, you could be dealing with a variety of different fee schedules and types.   Regardless of the fee type; however, you should remember that any legal fees and costs that you pay to an attorney should be directly related to the time and labor associated with representing you.  In the following fee descriptions, you should get a better understanding of how legitimate fees are calculated.

There are essentially three kinds of attorney and legal fees that you may come across in your search for a vehicle accident law firm.  These fees are hourly fees, flat fees, and contingent fees.  When it comes to a lot of personal injury cases, especially those involving traffic accidents, law firms will typically recommend a contingent fee.  A contingent fee is the type of fee that most people are familiar with and they are essentially fees that are paid to an attorney after a settlement is received.  A person will not pay anything upfront to the attorney, but rather a percentage of any damages that are awarded.

The two types of fees that people are less willing to pay are flat fees and hourly fees.  Both of these types of fees are paid out of pocket by the client and so they are often not as well-liked by clients, especially considering the fact that no settlement may be recovered at the end of the process.

A flat fee is essentially a standard fee that is agreed upon by the law firm and the client prior to any work being done on the case.  Generally, flat fees are only utilized when the work to be done is simple, such as the drafting of a will or the handling of a traffic ticket.  In contrast to a flat fee, an hourly rate is one in which an attorney charges the client for every hour of work spent on the case, and could be higher or lower depending on the type of work being done.  For example, an attorney could charge a higher rate for trial hours versus hours that are spent drafting court documents.

No matter the attorney or their fee arrangement, the one thing you must do is to always ensure that you have a written agreement with whatever Portland accident attorney or vehicle accident law firm you choose to retain.  Plus, you will want to make sure that you understand exactly when payments will need to be made and how often.