If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you’ll definitely want to hire an attorney to represent you. They’ll be able to guide you through the process, deal with insurance/trucking companies and negotiate the best settlement possible.
At this point, however, you’re probably wondering how much do truck accident attorneys cost. We’ll cover all you need to know about this below.
How Much Do Truck Accident Attorneys Cost?
The short answer is that hiring a truck accident attorney will cost you nothing unless you win your case. The reason is that almost all truck accident lawyers work on a contingency-fee basis.
What this means is the only time you pay them a fee is if/when you win your case.
The average contingency fee for truck accident lawyers ranges from 30% – 50%. Most of the time, you can figure the fee will be right around 33% of the settlement amount.
It’s possible the fee can be a little lower than that. For example, if it’s an easier case where the attorney settles and you/they don’t have to go to court.
Keep in mind that the contingency fee is usually based off of the net amount of the settlement you receive. If you talk with an attorney and they say their fee is based off of the gross amount of the settlement, that is not how it’s usually done.
In this case, you can push back and try to change that. If they will not budge on that point, and don’t have a convincing reason why, you might want to find a different lawyer to handle your truck accident case.
Other Fees
There are a number of fees that come up during a truck accident case. These include court filings and fees, investigative fees, fees to medical records/police reports, expert witness fees, court reporter fees and more.
You want to understand up front how the law firm you’re working with handles the fees associated with your case. You’ll want to know if you have to pay for them all as they come up or if the firm will cover them and then deduct them from your settlement (assuming you get one).
Also, find out what happens with these fees if you don’t win your case.
These fees are not insignificant. It depends on the specifics of your case and where you live, but these fees can easily be a few thousand dollars. Sometimes they can be $10,000, $20,000 or more!
Flat Fees
Sometimes a truck accident attorney will just charge a flat fee. Though this is usually only happens in cases that are relatively easy and don’t have many complicating factors. For example, if the attorney just has to write and send out a letter or two on your behalf, they might just charge a flat fee.
Flat fees will vary depending on the situation and where you live, but you can figure on them being somewhere around $500 on average.
Hourly Fees
Hourly fees for truck accident attorneys are very rare. They can be a red flag and a reason to pick another lawyer to work with. They can also be a sign that the attorney does not think you have a very strong case.
Bottom Line on Truck Accident Attorney Costs
Bottom line here is you want to know what the fees are up front and understand the contract before you hire an attorney to represent you. Plus, don’t be afraid to negotiate. You may be able to get more favorable terms if you ask.
