You should never hire an attorney without knowing how much it will cost. This also applies when hiring a lawyer to handle your injury case. In Connecticut, the legal fees for injury cases are very straightforward. In fact, there is a statute (Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 52-251c) that sets the fees for most cases. Injury/Accident attorneys usually handle cases on a contingent fee basis. This means that you only pay a legal fee if you receive money for the claim. The legal fee will be a percentage of the money you recover. In addition, the percentage paid to the lawyer goes down, as the amount of the recovery goes up. The scale is as follows:
33 1/3 percent of the first $300,000.00
25 percent of the next $300,000.00
20 percent of the next $300,000.00
15 percent of the next $300,000.00
10 percent of any amount exceeding $1,200,000.00
In cases that are complex or unique, the statute allows you to waive these limitations. However, even if the limitations are waived, the legal fee cannot be more than 33 1/3 percent of the amount recovered. Also, most injury lawyers will pay the costs of the case up front, and be reimbursed at the end of the case from the amount recovered (costs include items such as investigation fees, court fees, deposition fees, expert witness fees and the cost of obtaining medical records, to name a few). Connecticut attorneys are required to provide you with a written fee agreement. The fee agreement should include how the legal fee will be charged and how the advanced costs will be handled.
