What is a contingency fee?

When you’ve been injured in an accident, you might have a pile of medical bills and you may have lost income from missed work, so you’re probably not in a position to go out of pocket for legal assistance.  Fortunately you can retain the experienced and reputable attorneys at Matt Dion and Associates without paying an expensive retainer because of something called a contingency fee agreement. Under a contingency fee agreement, you pay no upfront fees or hourly rates for legal services. Instead your attorney agrees to accept a percentage of your settlement or court award. If you do not attain compensation, your attorney does not get paid.

Contingency fee agreements are common in personal injury lawsuits, medical malpractice claims, and other cases that could end with a lump sum payment. The standard rate is 33 percent, but may vary, especially when a suit proceeds to trial.

It’s important to understand that your attorney may or may not advance other costs of litigation including filing fees, document preparation costs, and expert witness fees. If the case concludes successfully, an attorney who has financed the litigation recovers those costs as well as the fee. But if the case fails, you may have to reimburse the attorney for those expenses. Still a contingency fee allows you to hire an attorney to support your personal injury claim without going further into debt.