Auto insurance settlement. About the lawyer!!?

Question

ok say if i get 20,000 dollars...

my medical bills are 10,000 dollars

lawyer... 30 %

does the medical bills get subtracted before the lawyer gets his cut or after?????

after the medical bills i would get 7 for pain and suffering and lost wages

but if he took his amount before the medical bills were paid i would only get 4 thousand.... what comes first????? thanks

Answer 1

You need to read the retainer contract you signed.

The lawyer may actually get 33% plus expenses.

Most of the contracts in my area say the lawyer gets 1/3 plus expenses.

Some lawyers will cut their fee a little bit - not by huge amounts but some will cut the fee a little.

The only thing you can do is read the contract you signed when you hired the lawyer and see how he does it.

Usually the lawyer gets 1/3 of the gross.

Answer 2

In my case, my lawyer got the hospital, doctor etc. to except a lower amount on the medial bills, put the lawyer fees came off the top. then medical, the remainder was mine.

But you need to check your paperwork, it has it in there if your lawyers fees are of the gross or the net.

Answer 3

The attorney fee is charged on the entire amount of the settlement.  Therefore, if your rate is 30%, the attorney will get $6,000 for his efforts, leaving you $14,000.  Once you pay off the medical bills, you end up with $4,000.  The attorney fee is not based upon anything other than the gross settlement amount.

Answer 4

Your lawyer should have provided a retainer letter, contingency letter or contract, prior to representing you. In it, it should specify how the 30% is calculated. You need to read the document to see what you agreed to--

If the letter doesn't specify how it is to be calculated, you may want to try to negotiate his percentage after payment of medical bills, but good luck. If it doesn't say that, he'll want it on the lump sum amount, prior to adjustments. Those documents are always written in favor of the lawyer.

States have specific requirements that the lawyer has to put all costs in writing--but the particulars are state specific.

Whatever the document states, prevails.

Answer 5

The lawyer will get his cut of the gross, which means before your medical bills are paid.