In the state of Colorado, how much does a car accident or car wreck attorney charge for services? In Colorado, there are different types of fee arrangements with lawyers. With regard to personal injury cases, car crash lawyers in Colorado normally charge a percentage of the gross settlement or jury verdict. These are called contingency fees as they are contingent upon your lawyer winning your case in court or settling your case out of court. If the lawyer does not settle or win your case, normally you do not owe the car accident lawyer anything except maybe
some “costs” of your case. So how much do personal injury and car accident attorneys charge on a contingency fee basis? Normally in Colorado, car accident attorneys charge between 33% to 40%. Some lawyers, especially the TV and radio type lawyers we all have come to hate, will charge a higher contingency fee, like 35-40%. Allen Accident Law always charges the minimum fee of 33% (unless your car accident case has to go to Court and then it will go up to 40% as is standard in the legal industry). Personal injury attorneys could charge you by the hour or on a flat fee but that is very rare. In these type of fee arrangements, you pay the lawyer whether you win or lose so it is much safer and easier to go with a contingency fee as you do not have to pay your car accident attorney until your case is settled. If he or she loses or is not able to settle your case, then you owe no attorney’s fees.
EXAMPLE CAR ACCIDENT SETTLEMENT
Here is an example of a car accident settlement in Colorado. Let’s say you were rear ended and the other driver was definitely at fault and there is thus no issue with regards to fault or liability as we say under the law. Your car accident lawyer settles your case for $60,000. And remember, you are the one as the client that makes the ultimate decision as to whether or not to settle. Your car accident attorney will guide you and make recommendations based on the strengths and weaknesses of your case. Every case has strengths and weaknesses and the insurance companies of course will emphasize the weaknesses in your case. Thus, your car wreck case settles for $60,000. The attorney’s fees would be 33% or 1/3 of the gross settlement. So $20,000 would go to the car accident attorney out of the gross settlement. $20,000 is 33% of $60,000. Then, if you owe any medical bills, that will come out of the settlement next. Let’s say you owed $5,000 in medical bills. So, that would be taken out of the
settlement next as the treating doctors will most often wait for your case to settle to get paid. After the $20,000 for attorney’s fees and the $5,000 in medical bills, the car crash client would
get $35,000 in his or her pocket. Just a note that personal injury settlements are not taxable so you do not need to report your settlement to the IRS on your yearly tax returns.
WHY DO CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS CHARGE CONTINGENCY FEES?
There are various reasons why car accident attorneys charge contingency fees and not other types of fee arrangements:
1. Access to legal representation. Many injured car accident victims simply do not have the funds to pay a lawyer or attorney up front or by the hour. A contingency fee allows clients to pay attorney’s fees only when his or her case settles and the settlement money is received. Thus, a a potential car accident client does not owe the attorney any fees for the months that he or she works on your case. This levels the playing field so to speak so that everyone can afford to hire a personal injury lawyer.
2. Same interests. When a car accident lawyer charges a contingency fee, he or she becomes sort of a “partner” with you in the success of your case. A contingency fee encourages your car accident lawyer to win your case as if he loses, then he makes no money. Thus, a lawyer needs to be confident in your case before he decides to take it. Plus, the more money the car accident attorney gets in a settlement, the more money the lawyer makes so your a lawyer’s interests are aligned with you. If your lawyer gets a higher settlement which is his aim or goal, then he makes more money in fees thus encouraging him to work very hard on your case.
3. Transfers the risk to the attorney. If the attorney charges a contingency fee, then all the risk is transferred upon the back of your attorney. He knows that if he is not successful, then he does not get paid anything. So virtually all the risk is transferred to the car accident attorney, financially speaking. The client does not have to pay the attorney until the very end.
WHY IS DOUG ALLEN OF ALLEN ACCIDENT LAW THE BEST CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEY?
DOUG ALLEN is the best car accident attorney in the Colorado area. He has 32 years of experience settling and litigating personal injury and car accident cases. Doug started his career working on the other side for insurance companies, like State Farm and Geico. Thus, Doug knows how the insurance companies think and how they evaluate different injuries. Doug takes on only a small number of car accident cases at a time so he can devote 100% of his time to your case. He gets better settlements than most big law firms based on his experience and knowledge of personal injury law. He has personally handled thousands of car accident type cases, winning and settling 99% of his legal cases. Also, Doug charges a lower rate than most attorneys at a 33% contingency fee. Big law firms who advertise on TV and radio charge a higher fee to their clients to cover their advertising and marketing costs. I have low costs thus can charge a lower fee than most attorneys. Whereas the large law firms normally have paralegals and young attorneys working on your car accident case, when you hire me, you get me, 100%. I do not pass along my work to a paralegal or secretary which is common with larger law firms. I do everything myself and take a small number of cases at any one time. I promise to devote 100% of my time to your important motor vehicle injury case.
Ready to speak with the Best Car Accident Attorney in Fort Collins?
Contact Allen Accident Law today—no case is too small, and everyone deserves compensation for their injuries. With our No Recovery, No Fee policy, you pay nothing unless we win. If you or someone you know has been in a car accident in Larimer County or Northern Colorado, call (970) 232-0774 for a free consultation.