When hiring a lawyer, it is essential that the attorney you choose has the ability to incur the necessary expenses to represent a client who has sustained serious injuries. Pretrial expenses in these types of claims can run upward of $50,000-$100,000. Trial expenses can exceed $50,000.
The lawyer will need to hire a team of medical experts and doctors who specialize in the areas of medicine that relate to your injuries. For example, if you have sustained a brain injury, a neurologist must be retained in addition to vocational experts.
When retaining an attorney, be sure the attorney and his/her law firm has the ability to forward the necessary costs and expenses in order to hire all the important experts and prepare the case properly for trial.
What you should know about hiring a personal injury attorney:
It is important to realize that in virtually every state in the United States, personal injury attorneys are paid on a contingency fee basis. This means you will only be charged a legal fee if the attorney is successful in obtaining a recovery for you. Under a contingency fee, the attorney will be entitled to a percentage of the recovery. In New Jersey, for instance, an attorney is entitled to 33 1/3 percent on the first $500,000 recovered.