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Is an Attorney’s Fee Negotiable in a Personal Injury or Workers’ Compensation Case?

On Behalf of | Oct 30, 2015 | Auto Accident, Catastrophic Accident, Personal Injury, Slip & Fall Accidents, Workers' Compensation, Wrongful Death

A caller in the local Fall River area asked, in reference to personal injury when you see an attorney, whether it is an automobile accident or slip and fall can you negotiate the attorney fee or is it a set rate? Steven Sabra answered that it is dependent upon the individual attorney. Sabra and Aspden do not negotiate the fee at the beginning. The legal fee is typically one-third but worker’s compensation is totally different. On a personal injury case, generally it is the legal fee of one-third plus payment of expenses. Expenses deal with things like filing fees, sheriff’s fees, deposition costs, which in most cases the lawyer would have to pay and then be reimbursed at the time of settlement.

However, sometimes there are situations where after the fact, for many different reasons, there are liens or other issues where the legal fee can be negotiated. But that is not something done at Sabra and Aspden. Negotiating at the beginning of a case can be tricky because you don’t know where the case is going, how difficult it is going to be, and it is in bad form to negotiate a legal fee on a personal injury case. Although, some lawyers might do that, there is nothing legally in the rules or regulations that say lawyers cannot negotiate a fee that way. There are also some attorneys that may charge more than one-third due to certain cases, like medical malpractice cases and product liability cases, or if the legal fee doesn’t include appeal. There are all kinds of variations.

Looking for legal representation in Fall River, MA?

Understanding the complexities of the law can be overwhelming. If you’ve been injured due to a slip-and-fall, and aren’t sure who should be held responsible, contact Steven Sabra, a Fall River Personal Injury Attorney with more than 30 years experience representing people throughout the Fall River region. We work vigorously to achieve the maximum recovery for our clients.