How Much Will a Personal Injury Case Cost?
Personal injuries could end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars. For this reason, many injured individuals often look at filing a lawsuit for compensation. When you’re at the beginning of your journey of gaining compensation for a personal injury, you might start to wonder how much it’s going to cost.
Lawyer Fees
Many personal injury lawyers charge a contingency fee, so you don’t have to pay for service upfront. A contingency fee is a price you pay, but it is contingent on winning the case. If your case is won, the lawyer gets the fee out of your settlement. If the case is lost, the lawyer does not collect a fee at all.
Court Costs
You will need to pay a filing fee when you file your complaint against the responsible party. This could run anywhere from $100 to $400. Other court costs include paying the stipend for jurors, paying your summons server and paying for a copy of the court transcript. Sometimes attorneys add these costs to their fees, and sometimes you are required to pay them as they come.
Expert Witness Costs
When your lawyer asks an expert witness to testify on your behalf, the witness will be paid for his or her time. It’s possible that a particular expert will charge hundreds of dollars per hour just to review the case and prepare a report. Then you have to pay the expert to testify in court, and that is going to take time as well. You’ll likely need to pay for his or her time out of your own pocket.
Administrative Costs
Every court case has differing administrative costs, though there are almost always some that you can expect to pay. For example, you could be required to pay for copying or postage for certain documents. You might pay for your lawyer to travel or for a research team to do their work. If a trial exhibit is used, you would most likely pay for the exhibit to be created.
Investigative Costs
Again, investigative costs are often included in lawyer fees, but in many cases, they are not. If you are required to pay for investigative costs, you could end up paying thousands of dollars, depending on the depth of your case.
Getting Your Lawyer on the Case
After you are injured in an accident, you will need compensation to pay for your injuries. With the help of a lawyer, you are often more likely to receive a fair settlement. Contact a personal injury lawyer from a reputable law firm such as Yearin Law Office today to get a professional on the case.