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Need attorney for car accident


Tailgate

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Friend just called. His wife was in an accident that totaled her vehicle. Other driver was cited. She has a back injury and the other insurance is trying to get them to settle asap and they aren’t sure how serious it is yet. Any attorney recommendations would be helpful…unless there is a way for my buddy to handle it himself. Not sure what attorney fees are here and if a % is involved.

Appreciate any thoughts.

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23 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Unless your friend is looking to get fucked, and I’m not talking proper fucked, the last thing he needs to do is engage in battle with an insurance company that has an army of lawyers at their disposal.

Yeah, I know. The more I have had to deal with insurance the more I realize their MO is to decline anything possible and pay lowest. 

 

22 minutes ago, immamac said:

Yeah, this is why personal injury attorneys exist. City/county info useful. 

Thought about this and the percentage they would want. Not sure this case is that big. Maybe it's something an hour with a good attorney he can get some tactics to use himself. Happened in Austin.

Edited by Tailgate
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2 hours ago, Tailgate said:

Yeah, I know. The more I have had to deal with insurance the more I realize their MO is to decline anything possible and pay lowest. 

 

Thought about this and the percentage they would want. Not sure this case is that big. Maybe it's something an hour with a good attorney he can get some tactics to use himself. Happened in Austin.

There's a lawyer that rocks

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6 hours ago, Tailgate said:

Friend just called. His wife was in an accident that totaled her vehicle. Other driver was cited. She has a back injury and the other insurance is trying to get them to settle asap and they aren’t sure how serious it is yet. Any attorney recommendations would be helpful…unless there is a way for my buddy to handle it himself. Not sure what attorney fees are here and if a % is involved.

Appreciate any thoughts.

Personal injury firms generally don't take cases on an hourly basis. Contingent fees typically range from 33-45% depending on the case and how long it takes to resolve. The whole do it yourself thing with a bit of guidance isn't necessarily terrible, but can easily back fire.

Send me a PM if you want. 

 

  • Hook 'Em 2
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On 1/29/2025 at 3:47 PM, Dahobbs said:

Personal injury firms generally don't take cases on an hourly basis. Contingent fees typically range from 33-45% depending on the case and how long it takes to resolve. The whole do it yourself thing with a bit of guidance isn't necessarily terrible, but can easily back fire.

Send me a PM if you want. 

 

Aren't car wreck firms a little cheaper than that if they don't have to file suit?

Decades ago, the "multiples" In Dallas County, at least, that is what extra percentage over out-of-pocket medicals juries tended to award so insurers would come close to paying out pretty easily justified even a 33% contingency.  Meaning, for OP and others, if you could submit legit out-of-pocket medicals of X, a Dallas County jury would award 2x+ plus property damage.  So you'd still come out pretty far ahead with a skilled insurance negotiator from a PI firm.

It is my understanding that the multiples have narrowed, so that may be less true than it was.

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8 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Aren't car wreck firms a little cheaper than that if they don't have to file suit?

Decades ago, the "multiples" In Dallas County, at least, that is what extra percentage over out-of-pocket medicals juries tended to award so insurers would come close to paying out pretty easily justified even a 33% contingency.  Meaning, for OP and others, if you could submit legit out-of-pocket medicals of X, a Dallas County jury would award 2x+ plus property damage.  So you'd still come out pretty far ahead with a skilled insurance negotiator from a PI firm.

It is my understanding that the multiples have narrowed, so that may be less true than it was.

The general trend for PI firms has been to increase the contingent fee. We previously had 3 tier contracts with 1 rate for pre-trial, 1 rate for trial, and 1 rate if it goes on appeal. But, the reality is that it was often confusing for the client, and frankly a poor indicator of how much work had to go into the case. We've moved to a single rate for our cases. That said it is possible some of the firms that focus on volume car crash work still have lower rates. But I don't know of anyone going under 1/3rd contingency on a normal basis. I have had cases that resolve relatively quickly and recommended reducing the fee after the fact, but that is a voluntary reduction based upon the actual work and not guaranteed upfront. 

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29 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

The general trend for PI firms has been to increase the contingent fee. We previously had 3 tier contracts with 1 rate for pre-trial, 1 rate for trial, and 1 rate if it goes on appeal. But, the reality is that it was often confusing for the client, and frankly a poor indicator of how much work had to go into the case. We've moved to a single rate for our cases. That said it is possible some of the firms that focus on volume car crash work still have lower rates. But I don't know of anyone going under 1/3rd contingency on a normal basis. I have had cases that resolve relatively quickly and recommended reducing the fee after the fact, but that is a voluntary reduction based upon the actual work and not guaranteed upfront. 

Fair nough.  My knowledge of such things is outdated.  My law school roommate did insurance defense way back in the day that included a lot of car wreck cases.

And I knew Brian Loncar somewhat well outside of strictly professional settings and learned some of the business from him.  He may have been a schock jock, but from all of my interaction with him, he was a pretty authentic, sincere dude that cared about getting his clients their due. Then again, once you can fake sincerity, you've got it made.  He was definitely a volume shop and employed a lot of adjusters/former claims reps that he said were quite profitable and did good work for their clients.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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