• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Firm Overview
    • Lawyer Referrals
    • General Referrals
    • Podcast
    • Newsletters
    • Careers
    • Communication Policy
  • Personal Injury Cases
    • Car Accidents
    • Tractor Trailer Accidents
    • Drunk Driving Car Accidents
    • Motorcycle Accidents
    • Faulty Products Causing Injury
    • Dog Bite Injuries
    • Pedestrian Accidents
    • Slip and Fall Injuries
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Wrongful Death
  • Disability Insurance Denials
  • Results
  • Reviews
  • Blog
    • Personal Injury
    • ERISA Disability
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Wrongful Death
  • Free Info
    • Free Injury and Disability Books
    • Personal Injury Settlement Calculator
    • Win Your Own Personal Injury Case
    • Personal Injury FAQ Videos
    • ERISA Long-Term Disability FAQ Videos
    • Client Portal
  • Contact
    • Book Now!

Virginia Personal Injury and Disability Lawyers

Trial Lawyers.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
CALL TODAY : (434) 515-2807
Free Strategy Session
Call
Contact
Blog
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Firm Overview
    • Lawyer Referrals
    • General Referrals
    • Podcast
    • Newsletters
    • Careers
    • Communication Policy
  • Personal Injury Cases
    • Car Accidents
    • Tractor Trailer Accidents
    • Drunk Driving Car Accidents
    • Motorcycle Accidents
    • Faulty Products Causing Injury
    • Dog Bite Injuries
    • Pedestrian Accidents
    • Slip and Fall Injuries
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Wrongful Death
  • Disability Insurance Denials
  • Results
  • Reviews
  • Blog
    • Personal Injury
    • ERISA Disability
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Wrongful Death
  • Free Info
    • Free Injury and Disability Books
    • Personal Injury Settlement Calculator
    • Win Your Own Personal Injury Case
    • Personal Injury FAQ Videos
    • ERISA Long-Term Disability FAQ Videos
    • Client Portal
  • Contact
    • Book Now!

Why Personal Injury Lawyers Require A Contingency Fee

8 Mar 2016

Contingency fees are hard to swallow especially when the numbers become significant. On many occasions, I’ve had clients ask me to explain my fee or to reduce it because it just doesn’t seem fair. And, in some cases, I will reduce my fee if I feel like the result is unfair to the client.

But as a general rule, contingency fees are incredibly fair to the client and the lawyer and I can explain why.


1. Everybody has equal access to the judicial system

In a personal injury case, it does not matter how much money you have in the bank when you determine that you need a lawyer. All that matters is that you were injured through no fault of your own and you are entitled to a financial recovery for the losses that you suffered.

No personal injury lawyer will ask you to write a large retainer check before accepting your case. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The lawyer oftentimes uses his own money to advance the cost of your case so that it will get to a place where the insurance company will offer a fair settlement or he can ask a jury for a full and fair verdict.

The fact that every person has equal access to a lawyer to pursue his or her case makes contingency fees a good idea.


2. Motivates your attorney to win your case

Hourly fee arrangements are the norm when it comes to civil litigation, except in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. In those cases, your attorney does not get any fee unless he wins your case. Hourly fee arrangements motivate lawyers to spend time on your case, but that does not guarantee that the time spent will be quality time. One must never mistake movement for progress. Hourly fee arrangements promote movement, but not necessarily progress.

This is not to say that lawyers who charge by the hour are somehow unethical, I do not think they are. But if you are structuring the fee arrangement to position your attorney 100% in your corner, this is a surefire way to do it.


3. With great risk comes great reward

Lawyers take great risks when they take on personal injury cases. Because these cases can take a long time to resolve, the lawyer does not get paid sometimes for years and he may have to use his own resources to fund your case. The lawyer will ultimately get those costs back when the case settles or the defendant pays a verdict, but he has to float that cost for several years. Also, if he invests his own time and money into your case, but the jury returns a defense verdict, then he will not get paid at all.

As a result of this great risk, the lawyer earns a great reward.


4. Reduces the risk of frivolous cases

If the case is frivolous, the lawyer gets nothing. Contrary to popular belief, frivolous cases do not settle out of court. In fact, while a majority of personal injury cases settle out of court—I’ve heard as much as nationwide—the frivolous cases are usually tried by a jury. The insurance company’s payout based on risk. If they perceive no risk, they would rather litigate and win than pay a frivolous claim. There are some occasions where it would be cheaper to give the frivolous claimant a few hundred bucks instead of paying an insurance defense attorney, but those are few and far in between. Either way, the lawyer barely gets anything if the settlement is simply a cost of defense settlement.

In my view, it is not worth it to take a frivolous case because the chances are that the lawyer will spend an inordinate amount of time for the few dollars it may make him.

So these are just a few reasons why contingency fee arrangements are beneficial to both the client and the lawyer. While it may seem like the lawyer is simply hitting the jackpot, that is not nearly the case. I recently posted an article from Lawyerist discussing why lawyers are so expensive.

What is your experience with contingency fee arrangements? I’d like to hear from you in the comment section below.

Primary Sidebar

Download Our Free Books!

Related Blogs

  • The tragedy of personal injury cases

    25 Jan 2023

    Virginia Read More

  • How Much UIM Will My Insurance Company Pay?

    8 Jun 2022

    Many Read More

  • How to Win a Personal Injury Case

    13 Apr 2022

    Winning Read More

Case Results

$940,000 in Settlements For Broken Clavicle and Torn Rotator Cuff

Personal Injury | Workers’ Compensation

View Project
Traumatic Brain injury Results In $395,000 in settlement

Personal Injury | Workers’ Compensation

View Project
$280,000 Settlement for Labral Tear after Rear-End Collision

Personal Injury

View Project

Reviews

Free Strategy Session

Footer

Free Strategy Session

Legal Awards

Client Reviews


Brandon and his team at Osterbind Law are truly peerless. This is exactly how a modern personal injury firm should operate. The firm is holistic in its approach and thoughtful. It's no wonder why they get such great results for their clients. And no surprise, their clients love them. I've had the pleasure of working with Brandon on a professional level and he levels up, big time. Kudos.
Nathaniel Amendola
3 months ago

Very compassionate and knowledgeable people who helped us with our situation. They worked quickly and I can’t tell you how grateful I’m they were so caring. I would recommend this firm to anyone that anyone
Lori Rudder
a year ago

The entire team at Osterbind Law are incredible. They communicated with us with every step and process that was happening . They provided the knowledge, support, and empathy to us on the case. And when the curve ball was thrown, they dug in deeper. I have nothing but the highest respect for Brandon and Hannah and the entire team. They made us feel more like a family, than a client.
Wendy Shull
a year ago

The staff is caring and very knowledgeable. They help you as quickly as possible, and worked very hard for us. I'm so pleased with the way they assisted us.
Meghan Rudder
a year ago

Brandon and his team did a great job helping me through my case. I'm so glad I chose him and stuck with him through the transition to his own firm. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. They feel like family after all this! Thank you for everything!!Amber J
Amber Higby
2 year ago
Read More ReviewsWrite a Review
  • 1216 Greenview Drive, Suite A
    Lynchburg, VA 24502
  • Email Us
  • Call Us
    (434) 515-2807

© 2023 Virginia Personal Injury and Disability Lawyers. All rights reserved.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Quick Help