Zachar Law Blog

How Do I Pay The Attorney’s Fees in My Car Accident Case?

Most all personal injury lawyers, if they decide to take your case, will handle the matter on what is called a “contingency fee”.

That means 1) no money owed to them to start the case and 2) they will only get paid if they recover for you.

Wait:  Does that mean if I lose, I owe the attorney nothing for the time spent on my case?

Answer:  Yes, that is precisely what it means.  No recovery for you, and you owe nothing.

The purpose of contingency fees is that such allows people who may not have an attorney to be able to get one and pursue a case.

Some will argue that the percentage charged by the attorney at the end of the case, often 1/3 or more of the recovery, is too much, but remember, in taking the case the attorney has dedicated his education, experience, time, staff, resources and his own money for investigation with the risk of never getting paid for any of it if there is never a recovery. 

The client gets an experienced attorney to help give the best possible chance to get the best possible recovery, without having to pay anything, unless they win.

No other profession does that for its clients.  Not doctors, accountants or any other.  Bad result, sorry, but here is my bill. 

So, in looking for the right injury lawyer for your case, why not hire the best, most experienced you can find?  Is your attorney a Certified Specialist in Injury and Wrongful Death? 

Do some online research; see what past clients say about the attorneys.  Then, choose the right one for you. 

When will my personal injury case settle? What you need to know.

Data concerning the rate of settlement for personal injury cases are varied, though what is consistent with the statistics is that they demonstrate that it is more probable that a case will settle than go to court. The question most clients ask is when my case will settle? There is no accurate answer to this general question because each case is different in fact, client, a defendant, and adjuster. The people involved are as important as what happened when it comes to settling a claim.

A settlement is the result of an agreement between the victim (client) and the insurance carrier for the person that injured the victim, whose representative is called an adjuster. If the client and the adjuster agree on a value, then the case settles. If they cannot agree on a value, then the case must be litigated before a jury or an arbitrator who then determines the value of the case. Thus, a settlement is most dependent upon the client and the adjuster, and their agreement to reach a value for the case that is acceptable to both.

Anything that does not lead to shared value will not settle. The decision to settle a case is solely in the power of a client and adjuster. An attorney may advise the client to settle or refrain from settling for a given value but the sole authority to accept a settlement always remains with the client.

When a case will settle and when a case can settle are similar questions with remarkably different answers. A case may settle at any time- either before a lawsuit is filed after a lawsuit is filed, even after a trial occurs, and even after a verdict is rendered. When a specific case settles has too many variables (mainly the valuation of the client v. the adjuster) to provide any true answer.

What damages can I seek in my personal injury lawsuit?

People often ask whether the compensation they may receive for a personal injury lawsuit is taxed. The answer is no. Why not? Because the injured victim is compensated for his or her loss or damage in an amount to make the victim whole; i.e., an amount that places the victim in the position he or she was in before the injury sustained. The compensation the victim received is not considered “gain” because the victim gained nothing and is merely being placed back in their pre-injury status.

Understanding this underlying principle is paramount when assuming the types of damages a victim may be entitled to in a personal injury lawsuit.

Under Arizona law, a victim of a personal injury is entitled to the full cost of his/her medical expenses, now and in the future, pain, discomfort, suffering, disability, disfigurement and anxiety already experienced and reasonably probable to be experienced in the future. These victims are also entitled to recover for loss of earnings to date, any decrease in earning power or capacity in the future as well as the loss of enjoyment of life (the participation in life’s activities to the quality and extent normally enjoyed before the injury).

Depending on the nature and extent of the injury, a victim may be entitled to loss of credit, loss of consortium (love, affection, intimacy, etc.). The damages are specific to the losses suffered by the victim and are still subject to the rigors of proof and must be causally related to the conduct of the wrongdoer.