THE PETE LAW FIRM

PERSONAL INJURY


A law firm is an entity who provides legal representation to those who claim to have been injured, physically or psychologically, as a result of the negligence or wrongdoing of another person, company, government agency, or other entity. Personal injury lawyers tend to practice primarily the area of law known as tort law. Even though personal injury lawyers are trained and licensed to practice virtually any field of law, they generally only handle cases that fall under tort law including work injuries, automobile and other accidents, defective products, medical mistakes, and slip and fall accidents. The expression "trial lawyers" can refer to personal injury lawyers, even though most cases handled by personal injury lawyers settle rather than going to trial.

Attorney Compensation: Typically lawyers fees are based on a number of factors, which may include the time and energy spent on a case, the outcome of a case, the difficulty of a claim, the experience and prominence of the lawyer, and the costs associated with the case. There are several standard payment options a personal injury lawyer may offer his/her clients. These options include contingency fees, hourly rates, flat fees, and retainers. A contingency fee is a prior arrangement between lawyer and client in which the lawyer receives a set percentage of the amount of recovery awarded to the plaintiff in a case. In most cases, monetary recovery is obtained through settlement, mediation, arbitration or trial. Generally, when a lawyer takes a case on a contingency fee, a client has no obligation to pay his/her lawyer a fee unless the case is successfully resolved. Most personal injury lawyers who represent injured parties, or plaintiffs, work on a contingency fee basis. The average contingency fee for a non-complex case is thirty-three percent if the case resolves before it is filed, and forty percent if it is resolved after that. Lawyers who defend personal injury cases are usually hired by insurance companies, and may charge fees on an 'hourly' or 'flat-fee' basis. An hourly fee arrangement involves an agreed amount of compensation for each hour the lawyer spends on the case. A flat-fee arrangement involves a set amount for the lawyer's handling of the case. These fee arrangements may also be combined.

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