LEGAL FEES & EXPENSES IN PERSONAL INJURY CASES

Contingent Fee Agreement

In Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, most lawyers will agree to represent you using a contingent fee agreement. This type of agreement means that the legal fees you owe the lawyer are contingent (or depend on) on him or her obtaining compensation for you. If he or she obtains no compensation, then you do not owe any legal fees. If he or she gets compensation for you, then the legal fees are typically based on a percentage of the amount of compensation. The percentages typically run from 20% to 33% depending on many factors including the risk associated with the case or stage of the lawsuit process. The Rules of Court require that all contingent fee agreement to be in writing and signed by the client and lawyer.

Expenses

All personal injury cases will involve some amount of expense. Typical expenses include court fees, costs for medical reports and files, expert fees, court reporter fees, and office expenses (photocopying, fax, postage, etc). These expenses (sometimes called disbursements) must be paid to develop your case. Expenses for a personal injury case can run from $500 to $80,000 (or more) depending on the seriousness of your injuries and whether your case goes to court. When hiring a lawyer, it is important for you to be clear on who pays expenses while the case is ongoing. For example, our firm pays all expenses until the case is resolved; however, other firms may require you to pay for expenses as the case goes along. Typically expenses are not included as part of the contingent fee.