Can I Afford an Experienced Truck Wreck Attorney?

Looking to find the right attorney can feel intimidating.

If you or someone you care about has been injured in an accident involving a big truck, it can feel overwhelming. These accidents often come with costly medical bills, emotional distress, and the need for legal assistance. You want to make sure that you receive the best care possible. However, you aren’t sure that you can really afford someone who has the knowledge and skill to fight for you and those you love. You don’t want to settle for an attorney that is inexperienced or will take shortcuts, but you also don’t want to break the bank. In these situations, you may find yourself asking, “Can I afford an experienced truck wreck attorney?”

At Craig, Kelley, and Faultless LLC, we know how important it is to find a personal injury attorney who has the knowledge, expertise, and experience to fight for you. Time and time again, we have seen the valuable impact of having experienced lawyers to represent our clients. We firmly believe in fighting for the best interests of our clients and their families. While working at a personal injury law firm is the way we earn a living and provide for our own families, we see it as so much more than a job; we see it as a way to help people and serve our community. Our goal at our law firm is to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and the people in the communities in which we practice.

How Do Our Personal Injury Lawyers Get Paid?

Most lawyers typically get paid by the hour that they work on a case. According to Forbes, an attorney’s hourly fee can span anywhere from $100 to several thousand dollars depending on the specialty and experience. In 2022, the average hourly rate for an attorney was $313.00. In this model, the better you are as a lawyer, the more you charge per hour. The more skill you have, the higher the cost of your services. In these settings, hiring an experienced and knowledgeable attorney can have extravagant costs. Often, a lawyer will request a retainer (or a payment made upfront) in the hourly scenario. However, this is not the model that we follow at Craig, Kelley, and Faultless LLC. Most personal injury attorneys do not charge by the hour. If they did, then many people couldn’t afford the best attorney for their injury or wrongful death case.

Most personal injury lawyers get paid a percentage of what they recover for their clients. This is often referred to as a contingency fee. This percentage is taken from the gross amount that the client wins from their case. The payment is based upon what you, as the client, obtains. With this model, you only pay if and when a settlement on a judgment is collected. If a financial recovery is not obtained, you don’t owe anything under most contingency fee agreements.

How Do Our Fees Work?

Our contingency fees are based upon the amount of work that we do for your case. The fees are broken down into three categories: before filing a lawsuit (pre-litigation), after following a lawsuit (litigation), and trial (within 30 days of trial, during trial, or following the trial). Each stage involves different levels of involvement and work from the lawyer, and each stage should be handled with care by someone with thorough knowledge and experience in the matter. Our fees go up based on the amount of work we do. Each phase involves more work.

At Craig, Kelley & Faultless, for car accidents involving semis, our typical pre-litigation fee is 33^1/3 % of all amounts received. In this part of the legal process, you want a team that is working on your behalf by closely examining the case to make sure that you are being properly compensated for your wreck. Cases in the pre-litigation phase are often smaller, or involve limited insurance, and involve a more straightforward process. Cases in this category are often viewed as being able to be settled within a relatively short period of time. This phase of the legal process involves the collection of records in relation to medical fees, lost wages, and other expenses to see what costs have come from the accident. These numbers are then sent to the defendant’s attorney in a demand package representing what our client is owed due to the accident. Sometimes a settlement, or a mutually agreed upon sum, is reached and our client(s) and attorneys are paid. However, if an amount is not agreed to by both parties, then a case may move from the pre-litigation phase into the litigation phase.

The litigation fee is 37% of all amounts recovered following the filing of a lawsuit. These cases are often more involved, require more work, may have an upcoming deadline to file a lawsuit (called the statute of limitations), and/or have a greater overall value. In this stage, an in-depth review of a variety of records (medical, criminal, phone, etc.) is performed. Written discovery is conducted when documents and information are formally requested. It also incorporates a process of depositions (verbal questioning) of the parties or witnesses, relating to the incident, and other relevant information. This phase may also include a mediation process. In mediation, both parties will gather in a settlement conference with a neutral mediator to see if a settlement agreement can be made. This may happen more than once. If no agreement is made, then comes the trial process.

Our firm’s trial fee is 40% of all amounts recovered within 30 days of trial, during the trial, or following the trial of the case. This complicated phase is the most involved process. The trial process involves putting together the necessary elements for the client’s story in preparation for the case going to court. This includes exhibits, interviews from friends and family, the testimony of doctors, and so much more. Another major element of this process is making sure our clients are prepared for court, and that we comply with all the legal requirements and deadlines for the court/trial process. Before going to trial, we will likely conduct mock trials and/or focus groups. A jury consultant is usually involved in this process.

At our firm, our fees are in relation to the amount of work that we do on your behalf. But no matter whether it’s pre-litigation, litigation, or trial, our team will diligently fight for you.

Most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis just like Craig, Kelley, & Faultless. Likewise, the majority of these law firms use the increased fee based on the increased work responsibilities. This means that most lawyers charge less in pre-litigation, more in litigation, and if the case goes up to trial. In addition, the 33^1/3%, 37%, and 40% fee structure is the most common contingency fee structure.

What this means is that most personal injury lawyers charge the same percentage. However, not all such lawyers have the same skills, experience, knowledge, or expertise in handling can wrecks involving semi tractor-trailers or other big trucks. Consequently, it is the best strategy to interview the lawyer to find the one with the most knowledge and experience handling a case. This way you will get the best attorney but will pay the same as an inexperienced lawyer.

The bottom line is that it shouldn’t cost you more in attorney fees to have the best and most qualified injury attorney. Plus, you will only pay the attorney if she/he collects money for you. You will never have to pay in advance. And if for some reason you are unable to collect any money, you will not owe our attorneys anything.

How Will Our Experienced Approach Help Your Truck Wreck Case?

Our experience is what guides the way we handle truck wreck cases. At Craig, Kelley, and Faultless LLC, we thoroughly and aggressively investigate every case as quickly as possible. Our team is skilled in making sure that we have the evidence we need to fight for what you deserve. We will speak with witnesses, look for video footage, inspect and preserve vehicles and related data, gather files from law enforcement, and so on. Our experience has taught us how helpful it is to utilize various experts in relation to your wreck. Whether it’s an accident reconstructionist, engineer, or medical professional, we will find the people whose specialties and expertise will assist your case. Additionally, we make sure to analyze every angle of your case. We consider the various factors and parties that played a role in your accident to make sure that you receive justice.

Our team is comprised of people who are well-informed about commercial motor vehicle accidents involving big trucks. We have experience, knowledge, and resources to handle these cases. Our dedicated team will fight for you every step of the way as we seek to make sure you are fairly compensated for the wreck. Not only that, but we treat our clients the way we want to be treated. We advocate for them with the utmost respect and compassion during a time that is often exhausting, challenging, scary, and overwhelming.

What You Need to Know About Hiring an Experienced Truck Wreck Lawyer

To hire a personal injury attorney with decades of experience, you don’t need to deplete your life savings. Our fees will be based upon what we win for you, not an hourly rate based upon our many years of experience with big truck wrecks. When you have been injured in an accident involving a semi or big truck, you don’t have to have an outrageous amount of money on hand to receive representation. You can afford the best attorney for your personal injury case without the hourly model. You can afford an experienced attorney who will thoroughly investigate your case. You can afford a personal injury attorney that will zealously advocate for you. You can afford an attorney that will treat you with respect, dignity, and compassion.

You can afford the best, and we want to help you.

David W. Craig sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (which requires the board certification in truck accident law). He is the managing partner, as well as one of the founding partners of the law firm of Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. He is also recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by the National Trial Lawyers. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families, written to help victims and their families as they navigate through a terrible situation and answers the host of questions that come after a tragic wreck. He is also the host of the podcast, After the Crash where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow Indiana law safety protocol on roads regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.