In law, nothing is certain but the expense
 

I'm sure you've seen those legal ads on TV that all but promise big settlements given their team of accident investigators, doctors, legal aids, and more.

Well, I have a cynical streak. I keep thinking that 90% of 'your big settlement' is consumed by fees. I suspect it's quite common for what's left of the settlement, after fees, to not even cover your medical expenses. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if the plaintiff would have been better off taking what the insurance company offered.

So, does anyone have any experience with this? Is my cynicism accurate or not?

I have heard that the person usually gets about 35% of the settlement, and the rest goes to the lawyer. I assume that's the cases where the lawyer only gets a fee if you win.

Its 33%

I was injured at work... I struggled for a bit to consider litigation regarding my injury.. Eventually I did litigate... for reasons.

Between the time I was injured, and my decision to sue.. Workers Comp, and my own insurance covered all my bills...

The courts found in my favor, my Attorney got 33% of my settlement, my settlement did include repayment of what workers comp paid..


However... The TV attorneys are not the ones you want to handle injury cases..

It’s like any tradesman. If they need to advertise…

When I sold Yellow Page ads long ago, the biggest fish were PI lawyers. Some of those guys - no exaggeration - paid $40k PER MONTH for their ads. Phoenix is blanketed with billboard signs and tv/radio ads from PI lawyers. Good work if you can get it.

33 if you're lucky, some ne urban atty's routinely get 45 plus expenses.

Uh no. If I have a plumbing issue, everyone on my street could name a plumber they have used…maybe they have a magnet on the fridge….I bet not a single one of them ever needed a personal injury attorney. Or could name one other than those they know from TV. Without a sold referral source like a union boss, trying to survive on word of mouth as a plaintiff’s PI attorney works great if you like being homeless and hungry.

In NY my fee was always 1/3 of gross if I win and nothing except expenses reimbursed if I lost. Client always got balance of 2/3 after expenses were paid back.

A contingency fee of 1/3 is the cost of me taking a RISK and working on your case for FREE for 2 plus years. Free means without pay….all the depos, the research, court appearances, motions, phone calls. meetings on and on. Expenses like photocopies, deposition transcripts, expert witness fees, medical records, court filings etc are itemized and always paid by the client out of the settlement or if there is no settlement/win, out of the client’s pocket at the end.

PI work is not high volume work that is in demand by the masses. Most people will never experience a serious injury caused by the negligence of another. All of us will need a plumber or electrician multiple times, a year…..

Being competitive in such a small market dominated by hundreds or thousands of lawyers ain’t easy. It’s almost impossible.

I have only hired one lawyer. He is a buddy in the the Porsche club, and he was a one man operation. I used him for the legal mess of being the executor of my parents estate. The judges at the courthouse do not like individuals trying it on their own. So he was there, had me show up in the court wearing a suit and tie, and answer the judges questions and swear to fulfill my duties. Then go upstairs and get certified copies from the court, and he guided me on how to do my job. He was not expensive. And best of all he went before the judge and said the estate is closed, and all was done to the letter of the law, and I did not have to put on a monkey suit a second time. That first appearance was the last time I wore a suit and tie, and my goal is to never wear one again.

A bad mechanic will overcharge and under-deliver.
Same can be said of a bad attorney.

The opposite also applies. Choose wisely in either case.

All the more reason to have a contingency fee based system. If I do a crap job and lose, I get NO FEE. The more I get you, the more I get paid. Clients seem to like that. Contributes to the litigious nature of our culture though, sure.

Also I will add that the original question here suggested 90% of expenses eats up the whole settlement....Im assuming this is about personal injury since it mentions medical records.......this is quite ridiculous. First, a fee is a fee, not an expense. And fees, are generally 1/3, less if med mal but generally 1/3 never 90% of the settlement. Never.

And fees.....perhaps if your settlement was only between $500 and $3,500.

I routinely obtained millions of dollars for clients. Routinely well over $150K for clients. The expenses were about $2,500 across the board. If there is a trial and experts (doctors or engineers) need to appear, it gets very expensive. Ill guess 98% of all PI cases in NY never get to a trial. They are settled or lost or won on summary judgement motions.

sure is a lot of misunderstanding out there how things work

The title of this thread is definitely accurate. I can think of only a few careers where a person can expect to work hard and possibly be paid nothing……lobster fishman comes to mind.

I think realtors can be included in that list as well.

A local billboard here advertising a big PI law firm states a client's "final" offer pre-lawyer was $20k. The firm took the case and got something like $120M.

I guess it's true - an interesting data point!

Yes,

I was injured in a construction site accident.... When I was Injured my workplace was about 60' above the roadway of the Williamsburg Br, and about 360' above the east river..

The work we were performing was basically a first time procedure on the cables of a suspension bridge while still in service..

Even though the actions of the Ironworkers injured me... They were the first to recommend attorneys... The Local BA (Business Agent) who I knew from years in the industry.. also told me call so and so...

When I met my attorney He told me his fee was 33% plus cost... but he would build the cost into my claim to make it a wash...It took years... and was a dance.. offers and counter offers.... all over my loss of my front teeth and a touch of plastic surgery....

We settled the morning we were supposed to appear in court...

My attorney took 33% of the settlement..... I'm not sure if thing work differently in other parts of the country.. but in the Metro NYC area....thats the way it is