Simple question

[Pinckneylarry]

Jurisdiction

South Carolina

I was wondering if i hired a auto accident attorney, do they get a 3rd of the total law suit or after the hospital bills are paid and whats left

 

[hrforme]

Probably depends on what contract/agreement you sign with the attorney.

 

[zddoodah]

I was wondering if i hired a auto accident attorney, do they get a 3rd of the total law suit or after the hospital bills are paid and whats left

"They" would not get either of those things (although your dichotomy doesn't entirely make sense).

What your attorney receives depends entirely on the terms of the retainer agreement that you sign at the time of hiring. A standard contingent fee agreement provides that the attorney receives somewhere in the range of 25-40% of the amount recovered. An example may illustrate this.

Let's say you sign an agreement that provides that the attorney receives 25% of the recovery if the case settles before filing suit, 33% of the recovery if the case settles after filing suit but before 30 days before the scheduled trial date, and 40% of the recovery if the case goes to trial. You settle after filing suit but before the trial prep period for $100k. Your attorney will receive $33,333.33. Your attorney will also be entitled to reimbursement of any hard costs advanced on your behalf (e.g., lawsuit filing and service fees, deposition fees, expert witness fees). Let's say that your lawyer has $1,666.67 in hard costs, so that leaves $65,000 that will be used to pay outstanding medical bills. Anything left after that is yours.