It does not cost you any money to hire a Personal Injury Attorney.
Many Floridians believe they have to pay money to hire an attorney if they are injured because another person or entity was negligent (most commonly in an automobile accident, motorcycle accident, trucking accident, from medical negligence, drowning accident and/or a slip and fall accident), and not being able to afford an attorney, they often wait before contacting an attorney following an accident. Most individuals do not understand the concept of a contingent fee contract that is used by personal injury attorneys in accident cases. Our Tampa Personal Injury Attorneys handle all accident and injury cases on a contingency fee basis. That simply means there is no upfront or out of pocket expenses and/or fees that the client must pay when hiring an attorney. The attorneys are only compensated if there is a recovery in the case, either through a settlement or trial verdict.
If there is a recovery in the case, the personal injury attorneys are compensated based upon a percentage of the recovery and not upon the hours worked in the case. The personal injury attorneys also advance all costs associated with pursuing the case. The costs associated with prosecuting the case (including filing fees, investigators, medical records, experts, etc.) are only reimbursed if there is a recovery.
Put another way, the client is protected because the client never pays any attorney’s fees or costs unless a recovery is made for them. Additionally, pursuant to the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar there are additional requirements for contingency fee contracts in personal injury cases. Some of the additional requirements are that they must be in writing, the percentages allowed shall be controlled by the Florida Bar and the client has three (3) days to cancel the contract with no penalty whatsoever.
What happens if the injured party does not receive any money as a result of their accident? Will they still owe the personal injury attorney any money for their time or costs spent in the case?
If you do not receive any money as a result of your accident, you will not owe the personal injury attorney any fees or costs!! By entering into a contingency fee contract, the personal injury attorney accepts the risk that your case may not lead to a recovery. Even if the personal injury attorney has spent hundreds of hours preparing for your case and/or thousands of dollars in costs, you will not be responsible for any money unless you awarded a settlement. (We do not seek the recovery of any costs associated with the case if there is no recovery).
Our attorneys have litigated numerous personal injury cases involving victims who have been injured through the negligence of others in Hernando County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, Manatee County, Polk County, Orange County and Sarasota County. If you or a loved one have been injured as the direct result of negligence of another individual, please contact us, your Tampa Personal Injury Attorneys.