If I Win My Case, How Much Compensation Can I Expect?

When you’ve decided to take on a law suit after a car accident, there are a lot of things to think about in order to succeed. One of those many things is how you are going to be compensated if you win. The verdict or settlement will probably set the amount you are to receive to be much higher than the actual amount you should expect to actually have when all is said and done. You don’t want to be disappointed by the amount you get, so to avoid this disappointment, you should read through the breakdown below and make sure you understand who is going to get what amount of money out of your car accident case.

Gross Settlement Amount
The amount you hear when you win your court case is the gross settlement amount. For the most part, this is the number many plaintiffs believe they will get, but that is not the case. The gross settlement or gross recovery amount is used to compensate you and cover the costs of your vehicle, lost time from work, any additional costs like property damage and the cost of any injuries you may have received due to the accident. It also covers any pain or emotional suffering caused by the accident. After this amount is decided upon, other costs and fees are distributed from this amount before you see any of it.

Contingency Fees
In many car accident cases, attorneys agree to represent their clients on a contingency fee basis, which means that the attorney pays the costs of litigation. However, the attorney will then require that you reimburse him or her when the case is won. They will also be entitled to a percentage of the money you get in the case as compensation for their services.

Contingency fees are usually about 33% to 50% of the amount you recover in your case. It all depends on the stage of your case as well as how much time and effort the lawyer will have to put into it. If your case settles before your attorney has filed the lawsuit, then the fee will be reduced. However, if the attorney has to take the case to trial, then the amount of work necessary for him is much higher. Therefore, the fee will significantly increase.

Advanced Costs for Your Attorney
The next fee taken out of your gross settlement amount will be advanced costs your attorney may have given you during litigation. This means that you will have to repay the lawyer for the costs of the lawsuit and give back any money your attorney loaned you. For example, some attorneys will help their clients with medical care during their lawsuit. At this point, any amount borrowed for medical bills will have to be repaid.

Liens
You may have some medical or other bills related to your case from before you hired your attorney, or you may have had to take out a loan before your settlement. These are all liens that will have to be paid back before you get your money.

Your Piece of the Pie
Finally, after all of these fees and costs are paid, you will be able to keep whatever remains. The client’s share is typically the smallest amount of them all, especially in settlements under $1 million, so don’t be surprised if your piece of the pie is quite small.

When choosing your attorney, you should remember the reason behind your lawsuit, which was probably to make sure the person responsible for your accident pays for the losses and damages you’ve suffered. You don’t want all of the money you win in your settlement to go to paying fees or to your attorney, so you should always discuss this topic with him beforehand to ensure you know how much to expect when all is said and done. Make sure you understand how much you are going to get in the end before you agree to any settlement or verdict.