How much will an attorney charge for a motorcycle accident case?

Most personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, which means that you only have to pay the attorney a fee for his services if he obtains a recovery for you, either by settlement or trial. If he does not obtain a recovery, you owe him nothing for his services. The attorney will usually advance any necessary expenses of the investigation and then pursuing the case and then he gets reimbursed for these things out of the recovery also. Under almost all circumstances you will have a written contract with your lawyer that spells out the details of the attorneys' fee agreement. Probably the average fee is between thirty percent (30%) and forty percent (40%) of the recovery.

The Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Bar have adopted a maximum fee schedule that attorneys are permitted to charge in contingency fee cases. Generally speaking, contingency fees may not exceed 40 percent of the first $1 million, 30 percent of the amounts recovered between $1 million and $2 million, and 20 percent of all amounts over $2 million. If an appeal is filed the fee may rise 5 percent more. There are other limitations, exceptions, and special circumstances where this may vary.

Keep in mind that there may be restrictions on the maximum a lawyer may charge, but there is no minimum required fee. If your case is good enough and the damages are big enough you may be able to negotiate for a lower fee than normally charged. Beware though - there are considerable differences between the skills and experiences of lawyers. Ask yourself, "If I needed brain surgery would I want the surgeon who is giving discounts on brain surgery this week, or would I want a really great surgeon?" Remember, a contingency fee lawyer is completely free to you until there is a recovery and a top-notch lawyer has a better chance of getting a top dollar recovery for your injury. If you lose the case it makes no difference if the fee you negotiated was going to be 40 percent or 2 percent; you will not have to pay a fee at all because you will recover nothing.

Click here if you would like to read the Florida Bar Association Rule of Professional Conduct which governs contingent attorneys fees.
 

The McMillen Law Firm represents motorcycle accident victims throughout Florida, including Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Ft. Lauderdale, Bradenton, Clearwater, Daytona Beach, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Kissimmee, Melbourne, Miami, Naples, Panama City, Pensacola, Sarasota, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg, Sebring, Tallahassee, Vero Beach, and West Palm Beach, and the counties of Bay, Brevard, Broward, Collier, Dade, Duval, Escambia, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lee, Leon, Manatee, Martin, Miami, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, St. John’s, St. Lucie, Sarasota, Stuart, and Volusia.