How Much Does Medical Care and Legal Help Cost After a Car Accident?
Getting into a car accident can be expensive, especially if you are injured.
Medical care is almost always the most significant expense when it comes to car accidents.
And if your car accident was caused by someone else, the second expense many people worry about is legal fees.
Fortunately, most car accident attorneys charge for their services in a somewhat unique way.
Instead of an hourly fee many firms charge in other types of cases, personal injury lawyers use a contingency fee.
The average cost for medical care varies significantly from case to case, and so does the cost of legal help.
If you've been injured in a car accident, our Nashville Car Accident Chiropractor can help treat your injuries.
Average Cost of Medical Care
The average medical costs associated with car accidents will depend on unique factors to each case and your health insurance.
The main thing that will influence the cost of your medical care is the severity of your injuries.
The severity of your injuries usually depends on whether you were a pedestrian or on a motorcycle, if you were hit by a commercial truck, and the speed the vehicles traveling before impact.
Depending on the facts of your case, your medical bills maybe a couple hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
One study found that the average claim for bodily injury is just over $15,000.
It's all too easy to rack up thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.
Without the help of an experienced attorney, you may be faced with insurmountable medical expenses.
Where Do These Costs Come From?
Your medical bills can come from several sources, including:
EMS Transportation
Emergency Room Visits
Diagnostic Tests like x-rays and CT scans
Medications
Medical Specialists
Follow-up Appointments
Chiropractic Sessions
Other Things To Consider With Medical Bills
In addition to health insurance, your car insurance service provider could help you with medical costs.
Some car insurance coverage includes personal injury protection that assists in covering medical costs associated with your accident.
Personal injury protection coverage is not part of every car insurance contract, though, and even if you have PIP coverage, your limit might not cover all your medical bills.
In addition to medical bills, costs associated with property damage missed work, and pain and suffering will add up quickly.
What is a Contingency Fee?
Besides medical care providers, a personal injury lawyer is the most important person you will talk to after a car accident.
Fortunately, they charge in such a way that allows anyone to use their services.
Car accident lawyers use what's known as a contingency fee arrangement that allows them to represent the client with the understanding that the attorney will only collect a fee if the case is resolved in favor of the client.
For the attorney to get paid, you must receive a car accident settlement or a court judgment in your favor.
Your attorney's fee is "contingent" upon a successful outcome to the case.
How Is An Expense Handled?
Even though lawyers operate on a contingency fee, they will still incur costs while representing you.
We just talked about contingency fees and lawyers not getting paid unless you do.
That's not always true, so you need to know who will be responsible for the costs associated with your case.
An expense like filing fees, costs of photocopying, expert witness fees, et cetera, will need to be paid right away.
More often than not, those costs will be absorbed by the attorney as they arise.
However, those costs will be deducted from that final amount when you receive your settlement, on top of the agreed-upon contingency percentage.
Make sure you're not on the hook to pay for an expense even if your case isn't successful.
Contingency Fee Percentage
The fee a personal injury lawyer can receive in a contingency fee agreement varies.
Typically, the fee will range from 25 to 40 percent. 33 percent is pretty standard.
That means if you have a 33% contingency fee arrangement and you recover $100,000 in your car accident case, your attorney gets about $33,000.
A contingency fee percentage is usually higher if a personal injury lawsuit has to be filed against the at-fault driver.
If the case can settle with the insurance company before going to court, the percentage may be lower.
It is always important to speak with your attorney about their contingency fee and carefully review your contract for legal services.
If there is anything in your contract you don't understand, ask your attorney to explain it to you.
If you have a question about anything for that matter, like health insurance, lost wages, or medical expenses, ask your attorney.
The contingency fee is negotiable.
If your case is pretty cut and dry because the fault for the car accident is apparent, the defendant has plenty of car insurance, and there's evidence backing up your claims, you can negotiate a lower contingency fee.
There's no reason to give up a third of your compensation simply because you need the leverage of having a lawyer on your side.
Other Fee Arrangements
Not all injury cases have a pure contingency fee arrangement.
Some lawyers will collect an initial retainer to begin your case and collect a contingency fee when your case finishes.
But if you recover a settlement, the amount you've already paid to the attorney should be subtracted from the percentage you owe your attorney at the end of the case.
So if you paid a $2,000 retainer to the attorney and recover $90,000, the attorney will receive $28,000 from the settlement instead of 30,000.
There aren't many car accident cases that will involve a flat fee payment.
Flat fee payments are typically reserved for less-complex cases like representation limited to drafting and responding to a demand letter.
Let Advanced Injury Care Clinic Help
So, how can Advanced Injury Care Clinic help you after your accident?
First, their medical providers will provide you with world-class chiropractic care to help you heal from your car accident injuries.
They will also keep detailed records that your insurance company and personal injury lawyer will require while evaluating your case.
They will also refer you to a qualified accident attorney in your area that works on a contingency fee basis to help you recover the damages you need to recover from your auto accident.
The entire process after a car accident can seem daunting.
Visit Advanced Injury Care so they can give you the medical treatment you deserve that will keep your long term medical costs low and refer you to an attorney who can help you with your financial recovery.
Click the button below to contact AICC and learn more about how they can help.