Many people want to hire a workers’ compensation attorney but have concerns about how much it will cost. They worry that they will have to pay by the hour to meet with an attorney. They also worry that they will have to pay up front costs when they hire an attorney.
I understand people’s concerns that hiring an an attorney will be expensive. After all, people tell jokes about how expensive attorneys are.
If you have these concerns, I have some good news for you. You will not have to spend a lot to hire us on your workers’ compensation case. I am going to discuss costs more specifically with a focus on two main areas:
- How much it will cost you to talk to us about your case; and
- How much it will cost to hire us on your case
What does my first consultation with you about my case cost?
The first consultation with us on your workers’ compensation case costs you nothing. You do not pay us up front for that consultation. You do not pay us when it is over. It is absolutely free.
The first step in the consultation process normally involves you speaking with our firm’s workers’ compensation client intake specialist. Our client intake specialist will get some information about your case. Then, she will schedule you for a phone consultation with one of our firm’s workers’ compensation attorneys.
Does the phone consultation with the attorney cost anything?
No. Our firm does not charge you anything for the phone consultation with the attorney.
This phone consultation provides an opportunity for you to ask us questions about your case. We try to provide helpful information about what we could do if you hired us to work on your case.
You need to make a good decision about whether our firm is right for you. We want you to have the information you need to make that decision. Because of this, we also usually schedule you an in person consultation with the attorney after the phone consultation.
What do I pay for the in person consultation with the attorney?
That consultation does not cost you anything either. We want to make sure you have the opportunity to meet with the attorney and discuss your case further if you want. Many people find that meeting with the attorney helps them make a good decision about their case.
If I do decide to hire you to represent me on my workers’ compensation case, how much do I have to pay up front?
You will not pay us anything up front when you hire us. You do not pay us by the hour. We do not charge a retainer to work on your case.
We accept workers’ compensation cases on a contingency fee contract. Many people do not know what a contingency fee contract is. Let me explain how it works.
A contingency fee contract means you only pay attorney’s fees if we succeed in getting benefits for you and you get those benefits as a result of our work on your case. Let’s talk about a couple of examples to make this clearer.
Many times, people hire us when the insurance company denies their workers’ compensation case. If we convince the insurance company to change their mind and pay benefits or go to court and get a judge to order the insurance company to pay benefits, you may have to pay us a percentage of these benefits as an attorney’s fee.
Another example is when someone hires us who is already receiving weekly workers’ compensation benefits. In that example, that person does not pay us an attorney’s fee out of those weekly benefits because we did not do anything to get those benefits. The person was already receiving those benefits when they hired us.
If I hire you, what contingencies can occur that result in me paying an attorney’s fee?
You only pay an attorney’s fee if we get benefits for you. In a workers’ compensation case, two types of contingencies can result in us receiving an attorney’s fee out of your benefits:
- Our work gets you weekly benefits (temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, or permanent partial disability)
- Our work results in a settlement of your case that you agree to
In both these situations, you pay us a percentage of the benefits you receive. The percentage amount is 25 percent in a workers’ compensation case.Again, you only pay us if it was our work that got you these benefits. If we do a lot of work on your case and do not get you any additional benefits, you do not pay us anything.
Do I have to pay up front for case expenses?
Almost all workers’ compensation cases have case expenses. These expenses usually include medical records from your doctors. They can also include deposition transcripts, hearing transcripts, and witness fees if your case goes to court. We also sometimes have to get opinions from experts.
You do not have to pay these expenses up front. If you hire us on your case, we advance the cost of these expenses so that you do not have to worry about them while you recover from your injury. We generally collect these expenses if you recover a lump sum of money on your case.
