Can you afford a car accident lawyer?
Below, we will discuss how you can afford a car accident attorney, including:
- Why you need an attorney on your case to get paid the full value of your claim,
- What your attorney will do for you,
- How contingency fees work, and
- Why you will most likely get paid more if you do have an attorney, even after paying attorney fees.
Why do I Need a Car Accident Lawyer to Represent Me?
Can you afford not to have a car accident attorney?
Why do you need a SC auto accident lawyer – can’t you just handle the case on your own?
Although it seems obvious to people who work in the court system or for people who have been involved in a personal injury case before, someone who has never experienced car wreck litigation may be wondering… why?
Your attorney will:
- Investigate your case, using their office’s resources to fund private investigators and expert consultants when needed,
- Communicate with the insurance company on your behalf,
- Gather the evidence you will need to prove liability and damages to the insurance company to maximize the chances of settling your case without filing suit or before trial,
- Ensure that you are not making harmful statements to insurance agents or defense attorneys,
- Identify the potential legal issues that could shut down your case, research them, and file motions to resolve them or be prepared to address them should your case go to trial,
- Provide a credible threat of trial to the insurance company if they refuse to pay your valid claim,
- Be available to answer your questions throughout your case,
- Make their office staff available to help you and answer your questions when your attorney is unavailable because they are in trial or other court appearances,
- Advocate on your behalf to insurance adjusters, defense lawyers, court clerks, judges, and jurors,
- Research and draft your pleadings and motions when it is necessary to file a lawsuit,
- Take depositions of key witnesses to preserve their testimony and to give the insurance company a preview of what they are facing if they force a trial,
- File discovery requests, gather evidence from the defendants, and file motions to get the court’s assistance to force the defendants to turn over critical evidence that can be used against them at trial,
- Understand the true value of your case and work to get the maximum recovery that you are entitled to under SC law and the facts of your case,
- Help you to get necessary medical treatment while your case is pending,
- Research the law and argue key issues at motion hearings before your case goes to trial,
- Represent you at mandatory mediation proceedings to attempt to settle your case before it goes to trial, and
- Present your case to a jury when the insurance company refuses to pay your claim.
But how can you pay for all this?
How Will I Pay an Attorney to Take My Case?
How much will an attorney cost, anyway?
You can afford a car accident lawyer because, in most cases, you will pay nothing unless and until your attorney wins your case and gets you paid…
You pay a contingency fee – usually one-third – of the money that you recover in your lawsuit. In most cases, there is no retainer that you must pay up front, and you are not billed on an hourly basis.
You know that your attorney, even though you haven’t paid him or her a dime yet, is working as hard as they can because 1) they don’t get paid unless you get paid, and 2) the more you get paid, the more they get paid…
You also know that your attorney believes in you and your case – if they didn’t, they wouldn’t have agreed to take you on. Attorneys have to support a law office – rent or mortgages and utilities for their office building, salaries for the office staff, and an overhead that is higher than that of most professions.
For this reason alone, we don’t take cases on unless we are reasonably sure that we can win them.
In some cases, your attorney may also be required to fund your expert witnesses, deposition costs, and other court costs that are necessary to win your case – you are responsible for the costs, but can you pay them up front yourself?
You will most likely receive more in compensation with an attorney than if you did not have an attorney.
Why?
In most cases, you will recover more in damages when you have an experienced car accident lawyer than you would have if you had attempted to settle your case on your own because the insurance company may deny your claim or offer you far less than your claim is worth if you do not have an attorney.
Why would they pay you any more than they have to?
Insurance companies do not pay claims unless they are forced to – they are in the business of making money, not paying claims. Your attorney can maximize your damages by:
- Knowing what damages you are entitled to under SC law,
- Investigating your accident and locking down the facts that establish liability,
- Preventing you from unintentionally making harmful statements to the insurance companies,
- Identifying all possible sources of recovery – including multiple insurance policies, multiple defendants, underinsured and uninsured policies, and a defendant’s personal or corporate assets,
- Providing the threat of litigation and the possibility of a higher jury verdict if the insurance company does not pay your claim, and
- Litigating your case when necessary, following through to force the defendants to pay what they owe.
Can you afford a car accident lawyer?
How can you not afford a car accident lawyer?
Car Accident Lawyers in Myrtle Beach, SC
In most cases, our SC auto accident attorneys at Coastal Law help our clients on a contingency fee basis and clients do not have to pay attorney fees up front.
Call us now at (843) 488-5000 or fill out our online form to schedule a free consultation and case evaluation.
