One of the most important steps you can take if you suffer injuries in a motorcycle accident is to retain an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to file your claim and negotiate your settlement with the negligent driver’s insurance company. However, you may be reluctant to do this due to worries about how much you will have to pay in attorney fees. The good news is that most attorneys handle these cases on a contingency fee basis so that you will not owe any upfront fees.
What Is a Contingency Fee Agreement?
Once you decide to hire a lawyer, you should enter into a written retainer agreement that clearly states the attorney fees that they will charge you. In motorcycle crash and other personal injury cases, most attorneys in Virginia handle these cases on a contingency fee basis. Here is how this fee arrangement works:
- You do not pay your lawyer any attorney fees upfront when you retain them.
- The lawyer will charge a percentage of your motorcycle accident settlement as their fees. This percentage may be different if your case is settled out of court or decided at a jury trial.
- When your claim is settled, the attorney fees you owe will be paid out of your settlement proceeds before you receive your check.
- You will not be charged any attorney fees if you do not win your case.
Costs of Litigation That You Could Owe
You will also be responsible for paying the cost of litigation if filing a lawsuit becomes necessary. You will owe these fees even if you lose your case.
Some lawyers will require you to pay these costs as they are incurred while others will cover these expenses and deduct them from your settlement. Your contingency fee agreement should specify how you must pay these costs. Litigation expenses you may owe include:
- Medical records
- Expert witness fees
- Postage
- Court filing fees
- Depositions and transcript costs
- Exhibits for trial
Were you or a family member injured in a motorcycle accident in Virginia Beach or Norfolk? Call our office to schedule a free consultation with our experienced motorcycle accident attorneys. We can explain how we charge attorney fees in these cases and how we can help you obtain all the compensation you deserve from the at-fault motorist’s insurance company.
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