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Skip to content In this article, I answer the common questions clients ask about personal injury lawyer disbursements. I have been a personal injury lawyer for more than 20 years. My answers are based on the knowledge and experience I have gained from successfully resolving thousands of personal injury claims.
I include specific information about how Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law handles disbursements.
The contingency fee agreement you sign when you hire a personal injury lawyer should explain disbursements. You will have questions. I hope this article answers some of those questions. If you have additional questions, please contact me.
My law firm focuses on injuries from motor vehicle accidents.
Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law pays the upfront costs of all disbursements. That means we also pay all the upfront costs of personal injury expert reports.
To book your free consultation, please call (780) 760-4878 (HURT) or contact Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law.
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In injury law, a disbursement is a payment that the injury lawyer makes to a third party in order to handle your injury claim. Personal injury lawyer disbursements may include the costs of:
The lawyer’s contract should clearly explain how and when disbursements are paid. The contract should explain if you will be responsible for any costs. If you are uncertain about any of the contract language, always ask the injury lawyer to explain.
Make sure you understand all aspects of the contract. Ask if you are not sure.
Most injury lawyers pay the upfront costs of injury lawyer disbursements and recover the costs from the compensation paid by the insurance company.
Some injury lawyers, however, may require clients to pay a retainer to offset their costs. The amount charged depends on the lawyer and the likely costs of your case. If all of the retainer is spent, the lawyer may ask you to “top up” the retainer.
Your injury lawyer should explain how and when disbursements are paid and whether a retainer will be charged.
Some injury law firms charge interest on the personal injury lawyer disbursements. Always ask the injury lawyer. My law firm, Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law, does not charge interest on injury lawyer disbursements.
In general, you do not directly pay for injury lawyer disbursements. The money comes from compensation paid by the insurance company. The cost depends on the specifics of your case and what is needed to convince the insurance company to pay you the compensation you deserve. Your injury lawyer should explain disbursement fees, including:
Always ask the injury lawyer to explain if you are uncertain about disbursements and how and when they are paid.
Some disbursement costs are relatively small, such as postage, medical transcripts, and police reports. Other injury lawyer costs are larger, such as hiring personal injury experts to prove your insurance claim.
Most personal injury lawyers will pay the upfront costs of hiring personal injury experts. Injury lawyers use personal injury experts to prove claims. They recover the costs from the compensation paid by the insurance company. Very few general practice lawyers will have the financial capability to cover such costs.
The costs of hiring personal injury experts are one type of disbursement. Some injury lawyers will ask for a retainer to help pay for disbursements. Before hiring an injury lawyer, always ask:
