If you’ve never dealt with a court case before, the thought of hiring an attorney can be a little intimidating. Do you really need one? How do you go about hiring an attorney? And then there’s the dreaded question: How much is it going to cost me? Hiring an attorney might be easier and more pain-free than you think.
So let’s take a look at what’s involved.
How much does hiring an attorney cost? Of course, every firm handles fees differently. At Oxner + Permar, we work on a contingency fee basis. This means if you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid. In other words, if your claim is denied, you don’t owe us anything. This takes some of the risk out of hiring an attorney, and you can be sure that your attorney has incentive to win your case outside of just wanting to help you.
Ideally, you won’t be denied — so what’s it going to cost if you do win your case? Our fees are based on the permanent award at maximum medical improvement or a settlement. There are other less common contingencies, like receiving Social Security Disability with an offset or receiving temporary partial disability. However, the Industrial Commission has to approve all of our fees, so you can be sure that they’ll be fair. Typically they approve a fee of 25%. We know some firms ask for more, but our policy is to never ask for more than 25% of your overall settlement. As for temporary benefits, we only take fees on disputed or litigated benefits.
So how do you go about hiring an attorney? Honestly, it’s as easy as picking up the phone and giving us a call. We’ll connect you to one of our attorneys who will evaluate your case. We’re happy to give you advice even if you don’t end up hiring us. In fact, it could be that it’s not in your best interests to hire an attorney, in which case we’ll advise you accordingly.
