Personal Injury Myths & Misconceptions: Hiring a Lawyer Will Cost Too Much
We’ve been talking about personal injury law myths and misconceptions over the last few weeks, and today’s topic is a big one. People are often hesitant to contact a lawyer because they think it will cost too much. Is that true?
Fact: most personal injury lawyers, Van Dyke Law included, operate on a contingency fee basis. This means that there are no costs to you until the case is resolved by reasonable settlement or we’re successful at trial.
Traditionally, lawyers are paid on an hourly basis. Hiring a lawyer who charges an hourly rate is cost-prohibitive for many–especially for anyone who’s unable to work due to injury or disability. It’s even further out of the realm of possibility for average people if their case relates to a serious injury or has many complicated factors. Contingency fees are an important way for regular people to access justice after they are injured.
When you hire us, we pay for all necessary litigation-related expenses up front. You will not have to repay them unless reasonable compensation is obtained. That includes:
- our own lawyer’s fees, for our time, travel and legal research
- retaining experts to conduct assessments: these could be psychiatrists, psychologists, medical specialists, occupational therapists, rehabilitation experts, etc.
- the costs of these assessments can range anywhere between $1,000 and $6,000 and can significantly strengthen your case, so they’re important and worthwhile.
- other disbursements, which include:
- communication-related expenses like photocopies, couriers, postage, long-distance phone calls and faxes
- court-related fees for filing documents or obtaining copies of court documents
- health-related documentation such as hospital and medical records
We share all of those potential expenses to give you a realistic idea of the financial investment involved in setting your case up for success.
In this video, Frank Van Dyke talks about how our office understands the financial stress involved in an injury claim, and how our contingency fee model ensures that we’re not a financial burden to our clients.
If you’re still uncertain, we also want you to know that we provide free initial consultations, so you have nothing to lose by simply getting more information.
We would be happy to discuss how our contingency fees work in greater detail. Please get in touch today to learn more.