Some crash victims are wary about hiring a car accident lawyer because they fear paying thousands of dollars out of pocket. A car wreck with injuries often causes mounting medical bills and lost wages. Fortunately, personal injury lawyers seldom ask for money upfront. What car accident lawyers charge varies from firm to firm, but clients typically pay nothing until their case is settled.

Most car accident lawyers charge their clients under a contingency fee system. This is advantageous for the client because it means the lawyer’s fee comes out of the eventual insurance settlement or the court judgment received by the client. If the client is unsuccessful in winning money, he or she will not have to pay the attorney.

The contingency fee system means a car accident victim has nothing to lose and plenty to gain from hiring a lawyer. Although a car accident victim will not have to pay a lawyer if dealing directly with the insurance company, there are many dangers in this approach, including losing tens of thousands of dollars if the company lowballs you or the insurance company denies your claim altogether.

Always read the fine print when you hire an attorney. At Ramji Law Group, our Houston-based car accident lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. We never ask our clients for money at the outset or out-of-pocket fees. Our evaluations are free, and we take a third of the eventual settlement. If there is no settlement or the case is dropped, the client owes nothing.

Why You Should Know What Car Accident Lawyers Charge

Few things are as stressful in life as a car accident. According to Anxiety & Depression Association of America, many car accident victims suffer a host of psychological problems after a car accident. You don’t need uncertainty about paying your lawyer to add to your problems.

Ask at the initial evaluation how much you will end up paying your lawyer. Fortunately, the personal injury process is much less stressful than hiring a divorce lawyer or a criminal defense lawyer, when you will often be asked to initially pay a retainer of thousands of dollars.

The percentage a lawyer takes from your final settlement ranges from 25% to 40%, according to Forbes. However, most personal injury lawyers charge 33%.

All reputable lawyers will give you a written contract for their services when you sign on as a client. This should detail the lawyer’s fees so that you will not be hit with unexpected charges as the case progresses.

You should be aware that some lawyers bill clients for expert witness fees, court filing fees, and charge the cost of police reports and medical records. We do not charge clients additional fees.

Although most personal injury lawyers in Houston, San Antonio, and elsewhere use the contingency fee method, some car accident lawyers charge an hourly rate, a flat fee, or follow a hybrid arrangement whereby the lawyer collects a flat fee initially to begin your case and later takes a share of the damages.

These payment methods are somewhat antiquated, given that most injury lawyers use the contingency fee method in the 21st century. You should be wary of attorneys who use any other method.

Although some clients worry about how much to pay car accident lawyers, there’s considerable evidence that many clients end up with a bigger payout than if they deal alone with an insurance company. A survey by Martindale-Hubbell, an information company that works with law firms, found 74% of car accident victims who hired a lawyer received a payout from the at-fault driver, while just 54% of those without a lawyer made a recovery.

Victims who were represented by a car accident lawyer received an average of $44,600 per accident case, compared with just $13,900 for claimants who dealt directly with an insurance company.

Talk to a Houston Car Accident Lawyer

Our Houston legal team will detail exactly what our car accident lawyers charge. We do not believe in unpleasant surprises. The Ramji Law Group offers free and confidential evaluations to prospective clients. These meetings are not a ‘hard sell.’ They are a chance for the lawyer to gain an understanding of your car accident, your rights, and how much you might be owed. They are an opportunity for clients to evaluate an attorney and to decide if he or she would be a good fit. We realize prospective clients habitually suffer financial hardship after a car accident. Rather than giving you an additional financial headache, your lawyer should offer a potential path to greater financial freedom in the future. Please contact us via our website or call us at (713) 766-0770.