Wrongful death claims are often very complex due to the nature of the legal issues involved. Surviving family members and loved ones who wish to recover financial compensation after a wrongful death may choose to interview and evaluate several personal injury attorneys who have experience in handling similar types of cases.
Personal injury & wrongful death lawyers often work on a contingency fee basis, meaning the lawyer agrees to only charge a fee if the case is successfully resolved. Contingency fees are based on a percentage of the recovery obtained by the lawyer. If there is no recovery, then typically the client does not owe any attorney fee.
In general, the typical personal injury attorney's contingency fee ranges between 25 to 50 percent of the total recovery. For more complex cases that are likely to require significantly more work, an attorney is likely to charge a higher percentage contingency fee. This is often the case with wrongful death claims, as the legal process can be much more intensive and require more work from the attorney handling the case.
Why Might Fees Be Higher In Wrongful Death Claims?
Attorney fees for a wrongful death case will depend upon the agreement - typically a contingency fee agreement - that you sign with the attorney when you hire them. That being said, a wrongful death case can take years to resolve, and a lawyer will likely spend hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars in expenses for the case before he or she gets paid. Usually, the riskier and more complex the case, the higher the contingency fee percentage will be.
If a lawyer accepts a wrongful death case that is very complex and/or has a high risk of failure, then that lawyer may increase his or her fee due to that risk. This is because in a contingency fee agreement, the client only pays attorney fees if the lawyer successfully recovers compensation on the client's behalf. If an attorney were to lose a wrongful death case, he or she will typically not be paid any fee and will also likely have lost the money that was invested into the case.
Contingency fee agreements allow families with limited financial resources to hire the best legal representation possible. This is important because the insurance companies usually retain some of the most expensive and experienced defense attorneys to help deny, delay and defend the wrongful death claim.
Consult With A Wrongful Death Lawyer For More Information
If you are seeking answers about a potential wrongful death claim and don't know where to turn, the legal team at Davis Law Group is here to answer your questions and help you determine if hiring an attorney may be in your best interests. We offer a complimentary case review to anyone who is considering pursuing a wrongful death case and our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, which means there are no up-front costs and you only pay legal fees after your case has been resolved.
Our lawyers know what legal issues to identify in fatal accident cases and we have extensive experience successfully resolving serious wrongful death claims. Call (206) 727-4000 or use the confidential contact form on this page to speak with our award-winning Seattle personal injury lawyers about your legal rights and options.
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