Contingent Attorney Fees
Most medical malpractice cases are handled on a “contingency fee” basis. This means you don’t have to pay the lawyer any money for their services unless they obtain a recovery for you, and then you pay them a percentage of the recovery. Since the attorney fees are contingent on the outcome, if you don’t win, you don’t have to pay the lawyer anything for attorney fees. The typical fee percentage in car accident cases is 33%, but medical malpractice cases are much more difficult, much more time consuming, and much more expensive to pursue than car accident cases. For that reason, attorney fees for medical malpractice cases are usually around 40%, or sometimes even 50%.
Should you shop around for a lower fee percentage?
If your case is good enough and the damages are big enough you may be able to shop around and negotiate for a lower fee percentage than normally charged. Beware though, there are considerable differences between lawyers. The defendants in your case will hire lawyers who specialize in medical malpractice; shouldn’t you?
Remember that a contingency fee lawyer shouldn’t cost you anything unless there is a recovery, and a top-notch medical malpractice lawyer is far more likely to obtain a good recovery for you than a lawyer who only dabbles in medical malpractice, in between slip and fall cases and dog bite injuries. If you lose your case or obtain a small recovery, the good news is that you pay your lawyer no fee, or a smaller fee. The bad news is that there will be no recovery, or very little recovery for you.
Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct require all lawyers who indicate they will charge a contingent attorney’s fee to conspicuously display the following disclaimer:
“No recovery no fee” refers only to fees charged by the attorney. Court costs and other additional expenses of the legal action sometimes must be paid by the client. Contingent fees are not permitted in all types of cases.”
Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers require that all contingency fee arrangements be in writing.