Many people injured in an accident due to someone’s negligence are often told by family or friends to “get a lawyer.” But sometimes the idea of hiring an attorney conjures up fear about racking up really high legal fees. The last thing the victim of an accident wants to do is pay an attorney when medical bills and lost wages already may be adding up.

Most people don’t realize that personal injury lawyers, unlike other lawyers, do not charge hourly fees, or charge a retainer. That is because these lawyers only get paid if a client’s case settles. That is called a contingency fee.

For example, suppose you are involved in a car accident and you decide to hire a lawyer. If your lawyer settles the case for $10,000, the attorney’s fee is $3,333.33, or 1/3 of the total settlement. If the lawyer is not able to settle the case, he would collect no fee and you would have owed him nothing. That is why most lawyers that handle accident cases advertise “No fee unless successful” or “You owe us nothing unless we win.”

That is what is different with personal injury legal services. Anyone, regardless of how much money they have, can hire a personal injury lawyer if they need one. Plus, the attorney will advance all costs, and will be reimbursed out of the settlement once the case settles.  Some of these case expenses are the costs of collecting medical records, or the filing fee charged by a court for filing a lawsuit.

The contingent fee applies to all personal injury cases (including workers’ comp cases) including:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Trucking accidents

Therefore, don’t worry about paying upfront legal fees if you are wondering how much do personal injury lawyers in Boston charge. You don’t owe your attorney a fee unless the attorney recovers compensation for you. This applies not only to personal injury lawyers in Boston, but to all lawyers throughout Massachusetts as well.