January 14, 2021

You were hurt in a crash that wasn’t your fault, the medical bills are stacking up, and now you’re wondering how you could possibly afford a lawyer on top of everything else. Here’s the part most people don’t realize until they ask: in a personal injury case, you almost never pay an attorney out of pocket, and the insurance company is counting on you not knowing that. The Reyes Firm Worried You Can’t Afford a Lawyer After an Injury? We work on contingency. No fee unless we win. Had a bad day? Contact Us Now $0 Upfront cost to hire on contingency No win, no fee 33⅓% Standard pre-suit injury fee The Florida Bar, Rule 4-1.5 40% Fee once a lawsuit is filed The Florida Bar, Rule 4-1.5 2 Years Florida injury filing deadline Fla. Stat. 95.11(3)(a) How much does a personal injury lawyer cost in Tampa? In most personal injury cases, hiring a lawyer costs you nothing up front and nothing out of your own pocket. The Reyes Firm, like most personal injury firms, works on a contingency fee. That means the firm’s fee is a percentage of the money it recovers for you, and if there is no recovery, you owe no attorney’s fee at all. The firm only gets paid when you get paid. This is the opposite of how you pay most professionals. There is no hourly bill arriving every month and no large retainer to write a check for before anyone will return your call. The lawyer takes on the financial risk of the case, advancing the work and often the costs, and gets compensated only if the case succeeds. For someone who is hurt, out of work, and facing medical bills, that structure is the entire point. ⚠️ Deadline Warning: Under Florida Statute § 95.11(3)(a), you have two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. A contingency fee removes the cost barrier, but it can’t undo a missed deadline. Once the two years pass, you almost always lose the right to recover anything. Don’t wait to call a lawyer. What is a contingency fee, and how does it actually work? A contingency fee is an agreement where your attorney’s payment is contingent on winning, meaning it depends on the outcome. Instead of paying by the hour, you agree that your lawyer receives an agreed-upon percentage of whatever they recover for you, whether through a settlement or a verdict. If they recover nothing, the fee is zero. Here is how it plays out in practice. Say your case settles and the firm’s agreed fee is one-third. The settlement check comes in, case costs are accounted for under the terms of your written agreement, the firm’s percentage is calculated, and you receive the rest. Everything is laid out in the contingency fee contract you sign at the start, so there are no surprise invoices later. You always have the right to read that agreement carefully and ask questions before you sign. 💡 Did You Know? In a Florida personal injury case, you generally do not pay your attorney by the hour. Under The Florida Bar’s contingency fee rules (Rule 4-1.5), the fee is a percentage of what is recovered, and if there is no recovery, you owe no attorney’s fee. Source: Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, Rule 4-1.5(f), floridabar.org. Watch: Why are personal injury attorneys “expensive”? This short explainer breaks down why contingency percentages look the way they do and what you actually take home. Still have questions about fees? The Reyes Firm answers them for free at 833-4 BAD DAY, with no obligation to hire. Why are the fees set at 33⅓% and 40%? The percentages are not random, and individual firms do not invent them. The Florida Bar sets the maximum contingency fee schedule for personal injury cases under Rule 4-1.5, and that schedule is built around the stage and size of the case. Generally, the presumed limits are 33⅓% of any recovery up to $1 million before a lawsuit is filed, rising to 40% once a lawsuit has been filed and the defense has answered, because litigation demands far more attorney time, expert involvement, and risk. The schedule also slides down as recoveries grow larger, with lower percentages applied to the portions of a recovery above $1 million and above $2 million, and an appeal can add a small additional percentage. The reason the numbers can feel high is the risk on the other side of them. The firm fronts the work, the investigation, and frequently the expert and filing costs, sometimes for a year or more, with no guarantee of recovering a dime. The percentage reflects that gamble. When the case value is significant, those same fees pay for the muscle needed to fight an insurer that will spend heavily to pay you as little as possible. The damages a strong case can reach, such as lost earning capacity, are exactly what that investment is built to protect. 🛡️ Your Rights Under Florida Law: Under the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, every contingency fee agreement must be in writing and signed, and you have three business days after signing to cancel it. You also have the right to discuss the percentage, to bargain over it, and to speak with other lawyers before committing. A reputable firm explains all of this before you ever sign. Fees versus costs: what else comes out of a settlement? The attorney’s percentage is the fee, but it is not the only line item in a case, and confusing the two is where a lot of frustration comes from. “Costs” are the actual out-of-pocket expenses needed to build your case, and they are separate from the lawyer’s fee. Typical case costs include court filing fees, charges for obtaining medical and police records, postage and copying, accident reconstruction, and expert witness fees, which can be substantial in a serious truck or commercial vehicle case. In most personal injury arrangements the firm advances