My lawyer is telling me it is illegal for them to pay the safety expert and dr. deposition fees. I have heard of other lawyers taking cases with NO RISK to the person who is injured. They told me that is against the law - who is right?
Also, I am in NJ. And, I did call another lawyer who said that he would take on all my fees. The problem is my first lawyer is my friend who is now upset that I don't want to go with her. But, I don't want to risk the money if we don't win.
Also, I am in NJ. And, I did call another lawyer who said that he would take on all my fees. The problem is my first lawyer is my friend who is now upset that I don't want to go with her. But, I don't want to risk the money if we don't win.
Answer by laughter_every_day
There is some variation among the states, but in most states the lawyer is prohibited from financing the lawsuit and the client must pay for the costs and expenses.
Answer by my avatar is hot but I'm not
Depends on the state, the easiest way to find out is simply call another personal injury lawyer and say, Hey, my case requires an expert witness, will I pay for that or do you???
Whatever he says will set it straight.. :)
Answer by Hillary
You didn't say what state you were in, but I would trust an attorney's knowledge of the law if I were you. I worked in personal injury for a while, and I have never heard of a case that was completely no-risk to the injured person. You pretty much always owe those costs -- you usually don't owe attorney's fees, but those costs, like depositions and experts, add up quickly.
But the responsibility for fees depends on the contract you signed when you retained them as your counsel; go back and read it. Most of the contracts require you to pay those expenses -- so if you win, the expenses are deducted from the award amount, and if you lose, you just owe them. It's pretty standard for contingency cases.
Add your own answer in the comments!
Orignal From: In a contingency personal injury case, if you dont win who is responsible for the expert/witness fees?
Post a Comment