Understanding Lawyers Fees for Medical Malpractice
When you, or someone in your family, are a victim of negligence on the part of a medical professional, you need to initiate legal action. However, it is better to consult a competent personal injury lawyer specializing in medical malpractice before you decide to file a claim. This ensures that your assumption of malpractice has some legal ground. Suffering injuries and paying hefty medical bills because your doctor was careless is quite a difficult situation to handle. Florida laws provide such victims rights to recover for damages they suffer because of the doctor’s negligence or fault. However, the first question is – how do you pay the lawyer when in such financial trouble? If you are worrying on this regard, what you need to do is find a legal practitioner who works on contingency fee basis. How does this work? These fee agreements are possible in personal injury and medical malpractice suits, where you claim money for damages from the responsible entity. Fort Myers personal injury lawyers working on this type of arrangement would only receive their fees if you win the suit and recover damages. This has several benefits for the plaintiff, i.e. you. First, you need not bother paying lawyer charges before you get the compensation. However, you need to pay the filing fees and the court costs. Moreover, your lawyer would only take up such a case if he/she considers that the chances of winning are high. In addition, as his/her fees depend on your winning, he/she is sure to work hard to ensure this. How do you know that what the lawyer charges is reasonable enough? The Supreme Court of Florida makes your task easier. It has put forward directives with regard to legal practitioner fees for medical malpractice cases. Here are the details of what the Court deems reasonable. If the case settles before filing an answer/appointing an arbitrator – 33 1/3% of recovery (up to $1,000,000), 30% of recovery ($1,000,000-2,000,000), 20% of recovery (anything in excess of $2,000,000) If the case settles (with negotiation/arbitration) or goes to trial – 40% of recovery (up to $1,000,000), 30% of recovery ($1,000,000-2,000,000), 20% of recovery (anything in excess of $2,000,000) If the case involves contest of the damages but not the liability – 33 1/3% of recovery (up to $1,000,000), 20% of recovery ($1,000,000-2,000,000), 15% of recovery (anything in excess of $2,000,000) If the case requires filing an appeal, the personal injury lawyer working on it may ask for another 5% on the recovery amount.
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