When you’re hiring a lawyer, oftentimes it’s difficult to know how much they will cost up front. The longer a divorce drags out, the more money you’ll owe to your lawyer, and the more intense your criminal charges, the more money you’ll pay as your lawyer plans a sound legal defense. However, when it comes to workers’ compensation, it’s a little easier to have an idea of just how much you might owe your lawyer.
That’s because at Hey Workers, we operate under the premise of a contingency fee. What this means is that you don’t pay by the hour; instead, you pay us a small portion of the award we’re able to obtain for you. Operating on a contingency basis is greatly beneficial for the client for a number of reasons. Here’s a closer look at why you want a lawyer who operates with a contingency fee, and how much a workers’ compensation lawyer costs in Minnesota.
Benefits of a Contingency Fee
You might not love the idea of paying a portion of your settlement award to your lawyer, but it’s actually a very beneficial system for the client. For starters, it’s rare that a client and a provider have exactly the same interests. Simply put, the more money the lawyer can get you, the bigger payday they’ll get.
Think about other services you pay for and how interests aren’t perfectly aligned. Hourly lawyers want complex and more billable cases, mechanics want damage to parts with the biggest margins, and your real estate agents would rather flip more houses at lower prices than let them sit for a long time on the market to get the best price for the seller. Almost every industry has some point of contention where interests between the provider and client work in opposition, but not in workers’ compensation cases. It is in our best interests to give the absolute best service to our clients in order to maximize both of our potential returns.
Another reason why this is helpful is because you know that work comp lawyers will be honest. A criminal defense lawyer may recommend a plea deal even if they don’t truly believe it’s in your best interest because they want to close the case. With a work comp lawyer, we’ll let you know straight up whether we believe the settlement offer is fair or if it’s worth taking the case before a judge. We win by getting you the most money possible, so that’s what we’re going to do.
How Much Will It Cost?
So how much does it cost to hire a workers’ compensation lawyer? Minnesota law actually lays out a pretty straightforward system for estimating how much you’ll owe the lawyer. Under Minnesota law, a workers’ compensation lawyer who secures an award for a client is entitled to no more than 20 percent of the first $130,000 per injury. Essentially, the most money you’d ever owe to a workers’ compensation lawyer is $26,000, and in that case, you’re walking home with a minimum of $104,000 in your pocket. On a more realistic scale, let’s say you get an award of $8,000. In this instance, you would owe your lawyer $1,600.
Finally, you might be thinking that you can maximize your award by forgoing legal representation. After all, of you can get that $8,000 award without having to pay 20 percent to the lawyer, you’ll get keep more money in your pocket. The problem is that lawyers can often secure a much higher payday for their clients than injured workers can secure on their own. If you jump on a $5,000 settlement offer, and your lawyer could have gotten you $10,000, you’re essentially leaving an extra $3,000 on that table, and that’s after paying your lawyer!
So if you need workers’ compensation or personal injury representation and you want someone with aligned interests you can trust, reach out to the experienced lawyers at Hey Workers today.
