What Is A Contingency Fee Agreement
You were minding your own business when a drunk driver driving a large truck causes a large truck crash. Experienced injury attorneys and accident lawyers know trucking accidents are often the most dangerous. These types of traffic accidents result in serious injuries, burns and even wrongful death. Smart accident attorneys and injury lawyers know that when Hoosiers have been injured, money becomes tight. We also know that your injuries might cause you to be disabled, and force you to file for Social Security Disability. Then the money really gets tight. How can the injured Hoosier pay an attorney to represent them for either fair compensation from the person whose negligence caused the injuries, or to represent them before the Social Security Administration? John Young is a Social Security lawyer with 21 years experience.
The answer is the contingent fee. Contingent is defined as depending upon a preceding event. So, a contingent fee is a fee that is only paid if you win your case (the preceding event). At Young and Young we work almost exclusively with personal injury and wrongful death claims for compensation on a contingency fee basis. This contingency fee does two things for you. First it gives you, the injured Hoosier, the keys to the Court House. What I mean by this is that without the contingency fee, most injured Hoosiers would not be able to bring their claim for compensation to court, it would simply be too expensive. In addition, despite what you hear about the injury compensation system, there is risk that a jury will not agree with you about who caused your injuries, or the extent of your injuries. If the jury does not agree with you, and you lose your case, then without the contingency fee, you would lose all the money you had to pay to the lawyer to bring the case, plus the money you had to pay to bring the case. In some cases it can cost as much as several hundred thousand dollars to bring your case to court. They don’t talk about this cost when they call the system a lottery.
The other benefit the contingency fee provides is incentive on the part of your lawyer to present your case in the most effective way. The lawyer (like me) knows that if the presentation is not the best it can be, the case may not be successful in providing you fair compensation. It further means that the lawyer will not get paid, and all the time and effort put into the case may be for nothing.
The Social Security Administration knows that people making claims for disability benefits have no money, but need competent representation. The administration allows for contingency fees. The administration also controls fees, meaning that a layer cannot charge you any fee unless you win your case, and the administration approves the fee.
All contingency fees must be in writing and signed by the client. It is unethical to charge a contingency fee without the agreement being in writing. At Young and Young, we have been representing Hoosiers for more than 55 years. We work for you through a contingency fee arrangement. We are paid when you are fairly compensated. Please give us a call.