What Does it Cost to Hire an 18-Wheeler Lawyer?

Getting into an accident with an 18-wheeler can be extremely frightening, and the consequences afterwards can be extremely serious. You may have medical bills or damage to your property for which you need compensation. In this case, the best thing you can do is have an experienced 18-wheeler lawyer on your side.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of an accident with an 18-wheeler, call (888) 588 5314 to speak to 18-wheeler attorneys for free.

How Much Do Trucking Lawyers Charge?

Pursuing a personal injury claim can be expensive. Many lawyers utilize an hourly rate, where a client is billed for all of the hours spent working on a case. Considering that some cases can take nearly a year to resolve, these fees can quickly add up, to the point where they may be as much or more than the settlement amount.

You might worry that your lawyer has more financial interest in dragging out a case than he does in getting you a favorable verdict—either way, he gets paid. However, at Zinda Law Group, you don’t have to worry about the problems associated with hourly rates because the attorneys utilize a contingency fee arrangement.  

What Is a Contingency Fee Arrangement?

A contingency fee agreement is a method of compensation commonly used by personal injury lawyers. Under a contingency fee agreement, you do not have to pay anything to the lawyer upfront, and your lawyer will not receive any money unless you receive a favorable outcome to your case. Once you get paid, your lawyer will receive a percentage of that payment that has been agreed upon beforehand.

Why You Shouldn’t Negotiate the Settlement Yourself

It may be tempting to pursue a personal injury claim or settlement without a lawyer to save time and money. However, the costs of forgoing a lawyer could be far higher than you realize.

You Could Leave Money On The Table

Very often, trucking companies or insurance companies may approach someone who has been in an 18-wheeler accident and offer them compensation in the form of a settlement. It may seem to be the solution to all your problems—take what’s offered without needing a lawyer. However, these settlements could take advantage of your situation and prevent you from being fairly compensated.

The settlement could be lower than needed to cover your medical bills or damages, or it could require you to admit fault in some way. Typically, once accepted, settlement agreements preclude you from bringing a case—even if later you realize that you could have received much more in court. A lawyer will be able to determine if your claim is worth more than you are being offered and determine if the settlement is in your best interests, or the company’s.

You’ll Be Up Against Professionals

Insurance agents and defense attorneys are professionals whose jobs are to prevent your claim from succeeding. They’ll have extensive knowledge of the legal process in your jurisdiction, and experience dealing with victims of accidents.

Since the opposing side will always have professionals guiding them, the best thing you can do for your case is to also have a professional on your side who can look our for your best interests. The legal system is extremely complex and difficult to navigate on your own.

Advantages of a No-win No-fee Agreement

There are many advantages to a contingency fee agreement, especially compared to another common way of compensating attorneys, the hourly fee system. Every attorney and client should feel like they are on the same side of the client’s fight, but a contingency fee agreement ensures this is the case. With a contingency fee agreement, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your lawyer is motivated to resolve your case as quickly, efficiently, and thoroughly as possible, and that you won’t have to encounter the other problems that arise without such an agreement.

Less Risk

One advantage of a contingency fee agreement is that it eliminates the need to gamble on paying for legal representation despite the sometimes-fickle nature of the legal system. No one can guarantee any one outcome of a case, and having a contingency fee agreement prevents you from risking the loss of any fee.

Incentive For the Lawyer

A lawyer working under a contingency fee agreement gets paid when you get paid. When you pay your lawyer by the hour, you might worry he is more invested in the prolonging of what he can charge you and less invested in the outcome of your case. With a contingency fee agreement, your interests and your lawyer’s are perfectly aligned.

Unexpected Costs

Filing a legal claim can involve many inconvenient and unexpected costs. Courts, for example, will charge a fee when you file your complaint to begin the legal process, and for any motions you file after that. Some cases involve several motions—this can begin to add up quickly.

Expert witnesses are another cost that could come up if your case is in need of them. Expert witnesses are professionals who can testify in court using their expertise, usually to give an opinion of the circumstances of the case. Of course, they need to be paid for the time they spend involved in your case.

Court reporters also need to be paid, too, and they are essential for conducting depositions, when witnesses are interviewed out of court and under oath. A court reporter might charge anywhere from $1000 to $2000 a day.

As you can see, a lawsuit can cost a lot even without factoring in attorney’s fees. If an attorney is on an hourly basis, both his rate and all of these fees are a gamble—if you don’t win in court, you still have to pay all of it. With a contingency fee agreement, you won’t need to pay upfront for these costs, and you will only pay them if you achieve a favorable settlement, when these costs will be taken out of that amount, so you don’t have to risk anything by pursuing your claim.

What Will Your 18-Wheeler Lawyer Do for You? 

Experience Assessing Claims

While there are no guarantees in the legal system, your attorney will be able to access generally whether your claim is worth pursuing. Some cases don’t have enough evidence, the circumstances of the accident aren’t favorable to the plaintiff, or there may be procedural problems such as passing the statute of limitations. A lawsuit is an investment of not just money, but also a significant amount of time and mental energy—it’s important to be clear about your chances and how productive it will be to file a claim when beginning the process.

Experience with Similar Claims

While the court can be unpredictable, that doesn’t mean that previous cases don’t have a lot of significance in determining how to present a claim and how it might turn out. An experienced attorney will have knowledge of any landmark cases that outline how the courts see similar claims in your jurisdiction as well as experience arguing similar cases and going through the process themselves. Your lawyer can use that knowledge and experience to craft a compelling argument which presents your claim in the way most likely to convince the court.

Experience Dealing With Insurance Companies

No insurance company wants to pay out; they are businesses, and if they gave out more than they received, they wouldn’t exist. Thus, it can be difficult to interact with insurance professionals in the wake of your 18-wheeler accident, as they may attempt to influence your claim or hurt your case. Your attorney will be aware of how to communicate with insurance companies in a way which will not do any damage to your claim and preserves your ability to go to court.

Investigators

A personal injury firm such as Zinda Law Group has the resources and contacts to investigate the circumstances of an accident far more thoroughly than the average person would be able to. For example, your law firm can conduct an investigation that locates a witness, or use technology to determine fault in the accident. Evidence is extremely important in personal injury cases, and hiring a law firm with investigative resources could hugely benefit your case.

Get in Touch With Zinda Law Group Today

Pursuing a personal injury claim is lonely and stressful on top of trying to recover from your accident, both physically and emotionally. You have to take time out of your life to attend court proceedings or consult with your lawyer; insurance companies may try to avoid paying you; the opposition might even try to blame you for the accident. It may seem as though everyone is against you.

At Zinda Law Group, our attorneys will help you through this time by making sure that you don’t have to face these things alone. You don’t have to feel burdened to take care of everything; our experienced 18-wheeler accident lawyers will fight for your claim, and you can feel more able to focus on recovering from your accident. If you don’t win, you pay nothing.

If you are in need of a lawyer for an 18-wheeler accident, call (888) 588 5314 to speak to one of the attorneys at Zinda Law Group for a free case evaluation.

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