What Is a Contingency Fee?

When an unexpected injury disrupts your life, you may have the right to bring a legal claim to get reimbursed for your losses and damages. But doing so on your own is hard for many reasons, not least of all because you’ve got to concentrate on healing and getting back to normal life. You might have thought of contacting a lawyer here in Reno and wondered just what a personal injury lawyer contingency fee is all about.

Defining the Contingency Fee Arrangement

A contingency fee is a payment structure where your lawyer only gets compensation if your case is successful. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fees. This arrangement is especially common in personal injury because it removes the barrier of having to come up with immediate legal costs just to pursue your rights. The lawyer’s payment comes as a percentage of whatever is recovered.

How the Personal Injury Lawyer Contingency Fee Typically Works

When you go this route, your lawyer invests time, resources, and expertise with the understanding that payment depends entirely on their success. The percentage is agreed upon in advance, and sometimes it can increase if the case ends up requiring more work or has to go to trial. 

You and the lawyer sign a written contract that spells out the exact percentage and scale, how it applies to the total recovery, and other key terms. Once the funds arrive from your award, your lawyer deducts their fee according to the agreement, handles any liens or medical repayments that have to be reimbursed from it, and distributes the remainder to you.

Written Agreements and Nevada Requirements

Nevada rules basically require that the contingency fee agreement be in writing and signed by you, clearly state the method for calculating the fee, include the specific percentages that apply at different stages, and address how expenses are to be handled and whether you remain responsible for those if the case does not succeed.

Fees vs Case Expenses

The contingency percentage covers the lawyer’s time and skill. Case expenses are other things, like court filing fees, the cost of getting expert witness reports, medical record retrieval, investigation expenses, and costs for doing deposition transcripts. In many personal injury cases, the lawyer advances these costs and only recovers them from the settlement proceeds if the case succeeds. 

Advantages of the Contingency Structure

Access 

With this arrangement, you can afford to retain experienced representation without draining all your savings or taking on debt just to get started.

Confidence

With this arrangement, your lawyer has skin in the game. Their recovery depends on winning, and the amount they get depends on maximizing your compensation.

Breathing Room

Instead of worrying about monthly legal bills, you can focus on medical treatment and getting your life back on track. 

Talk to a Reno Personal Injury Lawyer to Learn More

Call us today at Bradley Drendel & Jeanney in Reno, NV, where our nearly seven decades of focus on personal injury cases make us one of the state’s most established firms. 

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