Hourly Rates
Hourly Rates
Many attorneys charge by the hour. They might charge $300, $400, $500, or even $1,000 per hour. The perception that an attorney charges a huge amount of money, gives you the sense that one attorney must be better than the other, when they are charging so much for one hour of their time. However, in medical malpractice, car accident, or wrongful death cases, there is something pivotal you should know.
An attorney does not charge by the hour, and there is no hourly rate. Instead there is something known as contingency fees. This means the attorney only gets paid if he is successful in obtaining the injured victims compensation for the harms and injuries they have suffered.
Medical Malpractice Attorney does not Charge by the Hour
Now, can you determine the attorney’s ability, based upon the attorney’s fee? In New York, the answer is definitely a no, because in medical malpractice cases, the attorney’s fee is absolutely the same, no matter whom you go to, and the same is true for an accident or a wrongful death case.
Therefore, if you are trying to determine which attorney is the best one for you based upon what they charge, you certainly cannot use that as a criteria, to help you decide which lawyer is right for you. If instead you need a business attorney, and now you want to choose the attorney whom you believe is the best one for you, and your only judging criteria is how much he is going to charge per hour, then you will be looking for an attorney who charges the most per hour.
All Attorneys are Paid the Same Fee
However, when it comes to medical malpractice, accident, or wrongful death case, every attorney in New York charges the same exact fee. Hence, you will not be able to assess the capability of the attorney based on what he charges. You will have to apply different criteria, such as the lawyer’s experience, and past performance. Suppose you are looking for a medical malpractice lawyer, you need to know how many medical malpractice cases the lawyer or his firm has handled before.
Does the lawyer or firm have a sterling reputation in handling such cases? Most importantly, out of the medical malpractice cases the lawyer has handled, how many was he able to win. What is the amount of compensation, the lawyer has been able to get for his clients, compared to the claims made.
Not just One Factor
The capacity of an attorney handling medical malpractice, accident, or wrongful death cases is usually judged on the number of cases he has won and the amount of compensation that was rewarded to his clients. Contingency fees remain the same for all medical malpractice attorneys, and even the most successful attorney will be charging the same fees. Since, there is no hourly rate, and the contingency fees remain the same for all attorneys, you could miss out on a golden attorney if you only consider the amount the lawyer is charging.
