How much does a typical personal injury trial cost? There is no “typical” personal injury trial to begin with because the facts and complexity of each case vary–meaning the cost of bringing a trial varies by case. A modest trial–one that doesn’t involve experts can be inexpensive but when the expert fee is added, the cost can rise astronomically.
The lawyers in Anchorage offer free consultation and legal counsel to victims of personal injury besides recommending the ideal legal options for each case. You should strive to hire an affordable lawyer who will competently represent you. So, what is the average cost of a personal injury trial?
How is Legal Representation Funded?
Legal representation services are paid for in different ways–payment will depend on the preference of your lawyer. Some lawyers charge an upfront fee while others work on a contingency basis. However, most lawyers offer charges for their services in the following ways:
- Conditional Fee Agreement (‘CFA’)
A conditional fee agreement is the most popular way of filing a personal injury claim and it’s also known as a ‘No Win No Fee’ Agreement or working on a contingency basis. CFA was introduced in 1998 for the sake of the people who couldn’t afford legal representation.
A Conditional Fee Agreement is a written agreement between a lawyer and their client stating that legal charges are payable after the conclusion of a case which must be successful– “a win-win situation”. In other words, the lawyer isn’t paid if the case is lost.
The advantage of CFA is that the client can file a claim without any financial commitment plus they’ll lose nothing even if the case is lost. A legal fee is included in the recoverable damages so the client doesn’t pay from their pocket. In CFA, your lawyer will evaluate the facts of your case by performing a risk assessment to establish whether the chance of success is more than half or 50%+.
- Private Funding
An upfront legal fee is paid by the client whether the case will be won or lost in the private funding method. The fee is calculated by multiplying the attorney’s hourly by the total hours spent on the case. Alternatively, the attorney can charge a fixed fee which is also paid upfront. Private funding is not as popular as CFA because most victims of personal injury cannot afford the upfront litigation fee which can be expensive. You can visit Larson & Miller to learn more about it.
Cost & Expenses of your Injury Claim
The common costs and expenses of a personal injury claim include:
- Expert Witness Expenses
Some injury cases can have multiple expert witnesses and expert witnesses are not cheap. For instance, a case requiring a car engineer to testify on a product defect or a medic testifying on injuries will be costly because the witnesses are experts and they need to be compensated for their time.
- Administrative Expenses
The administration fee caters to administrative expenses, such as transcription, photocopying, messenger, or delivery expenses. Court activities are document-intensive because you might need to hire a court reporter to handle depositions, photocopy transcripts, and store the documents in an orderly manner.
- Court Costs
The court filing fee is the amount paid to file or initiate a court action which includes service and processing costs. These expenses might appear cheap initially, but costly in the long run.
- Miscellaneous Expenses
Miscellaneous expenses refer to out-of-pocket costs incurred by the litigant, such as traveling lawyer’s allowances and witnesses’ allowance. The expenses can add up fast if you’ll be required to fly, rent a car, or stay overnight.
Difference between Cost and Fees
To most people, the terms “costs” and “fees” are the same but it’s not so in law. The word “fee” refers to an attorney’s charges for legal representation. A good example of a fee is the contingency fee, the percentage of the award that the plaintiff’s attorney is entitled to after the conclusion of a successful personal injury case. Most of the other expenses incurred by the litigant are considered costs as demonstrated in the previous section– costs & Expenses of your Injury Claim.
Attorney Fees
Personal injury lawyers work on contingency in most cases– meaning they get a pre-agreed percentage of the award and they receive it once the case is won. However, most lawyers demand a higher contingency fee–approximately 40% if the case is settled out of court and a third if the case goes to trial. Sometimes paying a contingency fee might be more expensive than paying an upfront fee. In other words, sometimes CFA is more expensive than private funding–depending on the amount to be awarded.
The cost of bringing a personal injury claim is calculated by adding the lawyer’s fee and the litigation expenses incurred by a litigant.
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