The money that a lawyer makes on per cases basis, depends on more than one factor. It can be, however, stated that a personal injury lawyer makes a good average annual salary.

What are the different types of cases that personal injury lawyers handle mostly?

The most common types of personal injury cases include auto accidents, wrongful death, animal bite injuries, motorcycle accidents, aviation accidents, construction accidents, nursing home abuse, burn injuries, brain injuries, slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice, pedestrian accidents, defective products, etc. Most of the personal injury cases turn out to be complex at a certain stage.

You need to hire a really good lawyer in order to increase your chances of winning the case. For that, you will have to do a good deal of research and background check of the lawyer/s concerned.

What is the yearly income of a personal injury lawyer?

As per most of the websites, $62 is the mean average hourly wage for most PI lawyers. As usual, a personal injury lawyer makes more than $70,000 on a yearly basis. Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis. They usually get paid a percentage of what they collect.

How do claims adjusters reduce your claims?

Claims adjusters use various strategies to lower the value of your claim. They might go ahead and tell victims that they cannot prove the full extent of their damages. They might claim that the victim was at fault for the accident. They might say that the victim should be evaluated by the insurance company’s doctor. In such cases, the company doctor usually concludes that the victim’s injuries are too lame! They might tend to delay payment of claims! They do so in order to get the victim frustrated. Most of the good personal injury lawyers know about these tactics. As a result, they get prepared beforehand! They also tend to assess the true value of an injury victim’s claim.

Most personal injury lawyers tend to get more money for their clients since they vehemently remain rigid towards making the victim get fair compensation.

How much percentage of the compensation is taken by the personal injury lawyer?

In most of the states, the statutes limit the percentage that can be charged by your lawyer as a contingency fee. In usual, PI lawyers take 33.33% of the total amount of the compensation that you receive. This is done before a lawsuit is filed.

In certain cases, fee reductions are seen up to 25%. In case your attorneys settle prior to litigation, the normal fee arrangement is 33.33%. In case the lawyer tends to file suit, their take increases up to a percentage of 40%. In case they gather punitive damages, the fee can go up to 50% of the case.

If there is no involvement of insurance money, personal injury lawyers might charge an hourly bill. However, per hour rates are not very common in the present scenario.

Some lawyers do charge an hourly bill when they do not see the case ending on good terms. Most of the lawyers avoid at fault or partial fault type cases. In such cases, insurance does not pay in usual. In these cases, it is assumed that there was no coverage involved. This is when the lawyer chooses hourly billing. After all, they do not get a good return on such cases. Even if they win the case, they do not get prominent returns. Thus, when there is no insurance compensation, most lawyers charge customers on a per hour basis is considered wiser.

What are some other factors affecting the payment of a lawyer?

In order to gain good returns or enjoy flexibility, some lawyers are self-employed. This affects payment. The location of the attorney also plays a major role in his annual income. When a lawyer is located in a big city, the earning is expected to be more than a lawyer who operates in a rural area.

A lot depends on the marketing as well. A wise lawyer makes sure to market himself effectively. It does affect his/her annual income. Most lawyers do have credible and attractive law websites for the same reason. Additionally, many lawyers make use of social networking platforms to market themselves. So, a lot depends on the marketing strategy.

The type of employment of the lawyer also matters here. For instance, a personal injury defense attorney is paid by billable hours, as usual.

In the end, the payment of the lawyer depends a lot on his/her personal efforts. The lawyer is often employed by an organization. In some cases, this organization decides how much he will make annually.

What are the lesser-known compensation opportunities?

There are many insurance adjusters who tend to make a nearly accurate estimate of the verdict a jury would give. This happens when the case goes to trial. Many personal injury lawyers subtract the expenses that the victim would incur. After doing so, they come up with a ballpark settlement figure.

Many personal injury attorneys start the negotiations by asking for more than this particular amount. In most cases, experienced PI attorneys end up getting what they want!

Now, it is a given that most of the plaintiffs lack this level of experience. Thus, they have no clue as to how to place a fair value on their claim. Many factors need to be taken into account, here. In most cases, medical expenses and wage loss is easy for a victim to calculate. However, compensation for pain and suffering is not tangible. And, ironically, this forms the most prominent component of a jury verdict. Nonetheless, most claims adjusters come up with the ideology that pain and suffering are worth pretty less, as compared to physical injuries.

Conclusion

In many cases, plaintiffs pay a fee for the services of a South Florida personal injury lawyer. However, this happens only if the lawyer gathers a fair and full compensation for his/her client.


Contact Us for a Free Consultation

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Your Phone Number (required)

Your Message

call us at

954-866-7722
954-961-2082