The usual fee for lawyers in New York is between one-third (or 33.3 percent) and 40 percent of your total settlement or award amount. However, the lawyer could charge you at a lower rate once they have reviewed your situation.
Determining what percentage a New York injury lawyer will take from a case typically depends on several circumstances discussed further below.
Factors Affecting a New York Injury Lawyer’s Fee Percentage
The New York State Bar Association states that lawyers cannot charge excessively high fees. It would be unfair to the injury client if a disproportionate amount of the settlement ended up with the lawyer. As such, injury attorneys must consider the following when coming up with an appropriate fee percentage:
If You Have a Claim or a Lawsuit
As an insurance claim generally takes less work to file and settle than a civil lawsuit, the injury lawyer will likely charge you a smaller percentage if it stays as an insurance claim. However, they could raise the fee if the claim becomes a lawsuit instead.
For instance, let us assume that you and the lawyer initially agreed to a payment of 20 percent from your liability claim amount. However, you do not end up agreeing to the out-of-court settlement offered by the other party’s insurance company.
You then decide to bring a lawsuit to recover a more appropriate amount. Due to all the work that comes with suing a party in court, the lawyer might also decide to raise their fee to a 33 percent cut from your settlement or court award.
Your Claim or Case’s Value
The New York injury lawyer will also consider your case’s value when determining an appropriate percentage. The case value refers to the total damages you could recover if the ruling goes in your favor, including economic and non-economic damages.
Every lawyer will have a unique approach to assessing fees based on your case’s value, however. Before you hire a lawyer, it’s important to discuss how your potential settlement could affect your ultimate legal fees.
Difficulty Level Involved
Besides your case’s value, the New York injury lawyer should also factor in the case’s complexity when deciding on the percentage.
Suppose a client was partly liable for the car accident that injured them. Such a scenario would make it more difficult for the attorney to defend the client and argue that they deserve a higher settlement. Since the lawyer has to put in more work to help them settle successfully, they could ask for a higher amount in legal fees.
Time Limitations
Another consideration that the injury lawyer will make is the amount of time they will work on building the client’s case. New York injury cases have a three-year statute of limitations, which means the client should get in touch with an attorney before time runs out.
Let us say that the client only gave the lawyer half a year before the statutory deadline to prepare the case. Since the lawyer has to act quickly, they could charge a higher percentage in turn. However, if the client reaches out early on after their injury, the attorney may be open to a lower percentage rate, since they do not need to be in such a hurry to comply with the statute of limitations.
Do New York Injury Lawyers Still Get Their Cut If Clients Lose?
Most New York injury lawyers work on a contingency-fee basis. As a result, they will only receive the agreed-upon percentage if the client wins the claim or case.
This can be especially beneficial for personal injury victims who want to take legal action but lack the funds to pay attorneys upfront. They will only have to think about the payment if they settle the case successfully.
However, you should always confirm how the law firm assesses case fees. For instance, you may be expected to pay for some incidental costs associated with the case, such as filing fees or processing fees for retrieving your medical records.
Contact the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP for a Free Case Review
If you were injured due to another party’s negligence, the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP is here to help you take legal action to recover damages. We work with injury clients throughout New York in various practice areas, including construction accidents, medical malpractice cases, and car accidents—among many other case types.
As a contingency-based law firm, we only get paid if you do. If you do not win the case, you do not owe us anything. We can tell you more about the percentage our New York lawyers will take from a case. You can reach out to our team by phone anytime or through our website’s live chat. You could also fill out the form provided here to get your case evaluated for free.
