What If I Can’t Afford a Lawyer After a Truck Accident?

Hiring an experienced lawyer after a truck accident is critical for protecting your legal rights and seeking the financial compensation you deserve. But, what if you can’t afford one? 

What if you, like most people, don’t have money set aside to pay a retainer fee? What if you can’t afford to pay monthly legal bills on top of your medical bills and normal monthly expenses? 

While these are common concerns, hiring a lawyer after a truck accident does not cost anything out of pocket. This is because most truck accident lawyers (including ours) represent victims and their families on a contingency-fee basis. 

How Contingency Fees Work in Arkansas Truck Accident Cases

What is contingency-fee representation? If you’ve ever looked into hiring a lawyer after a truck accident, you’ve probably seen the phrase, “No fee unless we win.” This means the firm represents clients on a contingency-fee basis. While it might seem like there’s a catch, there really isn’t. 

When you hire a lawyer to represent you on a contingency-fee basis (or “on contingency”), this means:

• Your Initial Consultation is Completely Free – Sitting down with a lawyer to find out if you have a truck accident claim costs you nothing. Your lawyer will help you understand your legal rights and provide a preliminary assessment of the financial compensation you may be entitled to recover, and then you can use this information to decide whether you want to move forward with filing a claim. 
• You Will Not Pay a Retainer Fee – With contingency-fee representation, you do not have to pay a retainer fee. If you decide that you want to hire a truck accident lawyer to assert your legal rights, you will not have to pay anything to start the process. 
• You Will Not Pay Monthly Legal Bills – With contingency-fee representation, you also do not have to pay any monthly legal bills. Your lawyer won’t charge you an hourly rate. Instead, your legal fees (if any) will be calculated as a percentage of any financial compensation your lawyer helps you recover. 
• You Will Not Have to Cover the Costs of Pursuing Your Claim – While there are costs involved in pursuing a truck accident claim (including filing fees, expert witness fees, and photocopying costs, among others), you do not have to cover any of these costs out-of-pocket when you hire a lawyer after a truck accident. Instead, your lawyer’s firm will cover these costs as they are incurred. 
• You Will Not Have to Pay Any Legal Fees or Costs Unless You Win – The “contingent” aspect of contingency-fee representation means that you do not have to pay any legal fees or costs unless you win. If your truck accident claim is successful, your legal fees and costs will be deducted from your settlement or verdict. However, if your claim is unsuccessful for any reason, then you owe nothing.

In short, you can afford to hire a lawyer after a truck accident, because it truly costs you nothing. Your law firm will cover the costs of pursuing your claim for you, and your law firm will only recoup these costs (and earn its fee) if you receive just compensation for your accident-related losses. 

It Can Be Far More Expensive Not to Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer 

Importantly, not only does hiring a truck accident lawyer cost you nothing out of pocket, but it can also be far more expensive not to have an experienced lawyer on your side. If you are dealing with the aftermath of a serious truck accident, you could be facing significant and long-term financial and non-financial losses. Recovering these losses—whether through settlement negotiations or in court—requires experienced legal representation (and there are no guarantees). 

Hiring an experienced lawyer after a truck accident will help maximize your chances of recovering the financial compensation you deserve. From determining what constitutes “just compensation” for your pain and suffering to assessing the long-term financial costs of your injuries, there are many critical ways an experienced truck accident lawyer can help you. Due to the complexity of truck accident cases and the fact that the trucking company will fight your claim by all means available, hiring an experienced lawyer is a critical first step toward seeking the financial compensation you deserve. 

Talk to a Truck Accident Lawyer in Rogers, AR for FREE

Unsure whether you need a lawyer after a truck accident in Arkansas? You’re not alone, and getting answers is easier than you think. At Oliver Law Firm, we offer free consultations to help you understand your rights, your options, and what to expect if you decide to move forward with a claim. 

Contact the experienced personal injury lawyers at Oliver Law Firm today online or at 479-202-5200 for a FREE case evaluation. We serve clients throughout Arkansas and across the United States from our office in Rogers, AR.