A common question I get from potential car accident clients is, "how do car accident lawyers get paid?” Many of our cases are car crash cases and we have been handling crash cases in Missouri and Kansas for almost 20 years. Although I’ve written about the contingency fee arrangement before, here are some more details about how it works in a car accident case.
1. We only get paid if you get paid.
Our fee is a percentage of the money we get for you at the end of the case. You don’t pay us upfront or by the hour. We get paid only when we get your money compensation. If you don’t get monetary compensation, we don’t get a fee.
2. The insurance company sends a check for you and us.
Practically speaking, once we agree to a settlement or collect on a money judgment, the insurance company or whoever is paying the settlement of judgment sends a check to our law firm made out to you and us. We then endorse the check and deposit it into our client's trust account. Once the funds clear, which can take up to ten days, we deduct our attorney’s fee and expenses, then cut you a check for your net recovery.
3. Sometimes, the insurance company pays the attorney’s fees.
In some very rare situations, we can get our attorney’s fees paid for by the insurance company (or part of them). This usually requires a lawsuit or a judgment against the at-fault driver, or that you file a lawsuit against your own insurance carrier. This doesn’t usually happen, however, because most car accident cases settle out of court and those terms are not generally agreed to by insurance companies.
If you’ve been in a car crash and have any questions about your case, please don’t hesitate to ask. Meyerkord, Russell & Hergott handle hundreds, if not thousands, of car crash cases both in and out of court. Contact us today by calling (816) 867-8611">(816) 867-8611.