have all the medical bill and in order do i need to pay 33% to hire a attorney

was in an auto accident and have all the medical bill, medical reports in order and computate for past 1 1/2 years would the fee still be 33% to hire an attorney
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Answers (3)

Keith Samuel Hasson

Keith Samuel Hasson

Contributor Level 6
the decision of whether to hire an attorney is up to you. There are a number of valuable services an attorney would be able to provide to you in this situation. Merely assembling medical bills and reports, which a service typically provided by an attorney, is not the primary benefit an attorney could provide to you. Rather, an attorney could provide you with advice, guidance and information to allow you to maximize your recovery. If I were in your shoes, I would hire the best lawyer I could find, but whether the advice and guidance of an attorney is worth the price of legal fees to you is a decision only you can make.
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Lars A. Lundeen

Lars A. Lundeen

Contributor Level 8
As I am licensed in Florida and Vermont, I cannot offer you specific legal advice as to Washington state law. I am not exactly sure what you mean by the following: "medical bill, medical reports in order and computate for past 1 1/2 years". Perhaps you mean that you have obtained all of your medical bills, all of your medical records and specific doctor reports and you have added the bills up to give a total of your medical bills. I would be surprised if you secured actual "medical reports" on your own which address the legal issues of causation and diagnosis within a reasonable degree of medical probability and, further, provided the doctor's opinion on your need for any future care, again, directly relating the need for that care to the accident and, again, stating that opinion within a reasonable degree of medical probability. If the "report" does not cite the needed legal tests, there is a high probability that the insurance carrier will argue that the doctor's opinion would not be admissible at court. My point is, without legal training, you as a layperson may have some extreme difficulties putting together a case on your own and arguing for all of the elements of damages to which you may be entitled. You might find it helpful to review some of the Legal Guides which I have published on Avvo.com, one of which deals with the many elements of damages to which you may be entitled.

Generally attorneys will charge 33.33% to represent you before a case is actually filed in court and, often times 40% if the case is actually filed and an answer is received from the defendant. That is a fairly standard fee structure and, in the State of Florida for example, a structure which has been approved by the Florida Supreme Court. That same fee structure is applicable in most parts of the United States today.

I would suggest that you contact a personal injury attorney in your area and request a free consultation in person with the attorney. After you have had an opportunity to speak with the attorney, you will be in a better position to gauge whether or not an attorney might be able to help you secure much more money than you, as a layperson, could hope to achieve by negotiating with the insurance carrier yourself. Remember, the insurance company is not your friend nor your good neighbor. The main goal of the insurance carrier is to pay you nothing or as little as possible on your claim.
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Kyle C Olive

Kyle C Olive

Contributor Level 4
I highly recommend hiring a lawyer. You correctly identify that the standard contingent fee agreement often calls for a 1/3 attorney fee. That number is not set in stone. Some lawyers may set up the structure differently. As a consumer, you are certainly able to negotiate a different contingent fee.

What's more important than the fee, however, is that you hire competent counsel. The person you hire should be someone you trust and that trusts you. Someone that is willing to have a frank discussion about their fee is an important part of building the trust relationship

Gathering medical bills is only a tiny part of what a lawyer who represents you does.

Best of luck to you.
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