A personal injury lawyer usually works on a contingency fee basis. This means the lawyer does not get paid until the case is resolved. There is no retainer or hourly fee. The fee is paid as a percentage of the recovery.
There should be no up-front cost for a personal injury lawyer and the more money the client gets the more the lawyer gets. This blog post discusses personal injury lawyer fees in Kentucky.
What Is The Normal Rate?
There is no normal rate for a personal injury lawyer in Kentucky. I have seen anywhere between 25% and 45%. The rate goes up for litigation. This happens because lawsuits sometimes take years to resolve.
I think you generally get what you pay for up to a certain point. There is a very large firm in Louisville that charges 45% pre-litigation and 45% for litigation. That strikes me as exceptionally high on all fronts and I do not believe this rate is justified. On the other end of the spectrum are the 25% lawyers. I think these lawyers are incentivized to resolve cases fast and quick.
Depending on the case Dettman Law charges between 33-35% for pre-litigation and 40% for litigation. This means that if your case resolves without the necessity of a lawsuit the rate is lower. If I need to litigate to get the resolution up (assuming it makes sense to do that) then the percentage goes up.
What Are Costs?
Costs generally include things like postage, fees to get medical records, charges for a police report, and expert fees. Depositions qualify too. If your case does not go to litigation the costs should be somewhere between $100.00 to $200.00. Litigation significantly increases costs. An expert orthopedic deposition ballparks around $2,500.00 in Louisville, Kentucky. Depending on your injury you may need various experts.
Your lawyer fronts all of the costs and then takes them out of the end settlement or verdict. This occurs AFTER THE FEE.
Keep in mind that I do not incur unnecessary expenses. It is my money that is spent without interest. There are some lawyer and firms that use outside parties to pay for lawsuit costs. This charges the client a fee or interest rate. I don’t think that is good for my clients, so I don’t do it. It is important to be a lawyer that puts his/her own money where their mouth is.
What Is A No Fee Guarantee?
A no fee guarantee is a marketing gimmick in my opinion. All lawyers that do what I do don’t get paid until settlement or verdict. Having a guarantee for something that we already do really isn’t worth much.
Louisville Versus National Average
The cost of a personal injury lawyer in Louisville versus the rest of the country is not different. I hold a license in Florida; Gus in Virginia; and Ryan in Indiana. I work on cases in Tennessee and California. All the rates I have seen are generally speaking between 33.3% and 40%. Costs are different. On a California case, because people make more money there (on average) expert depositions are expensive.
If you have specific questions about fees send me an email at bdettman@dettmanlawgroup.com. Personal injury consultations are always free at Dettman Law.
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