Do married couples have to pay the same fees in a personal injury case?

i was in a accident and my case i s coming to a close. my lawyer said that we have to pay seperate fees for both cases. cant we work out a deal?

mikeslady06, It's unfortunate to hear about your situation. I was injured once in Nevada when a van backed over my left foot at work. My employer attempted to settle with me fast because they knew it wasn't my fault. I called a nearby accident lawyer in my city who gave me great advice and I was able to get a justifiable settlement to cover my hosptial bills that weren't covered by my work insurance. I'd find a lawyer in your city. http://www.accidentlawyerlocator.com My lawyer was helped me because they hope to make some money at the same time. Try visiting a lawyer to see if they can help.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

You could try to negotiate, but as the deal was made long ago, you have little bargaining power. On the other hand, it makes no difference. If both of you are plaintiffs, both are entitled to their own judgment, and the lawyer will keep the agreed amount of both, but taking 1/3 of both is the same as taking 1/3 of the combined amount. There is no mathematical difference.

I think you're stuck paying separate fees. When you hired your lawyer, you signed a contract. If you were going to work out a deal you would have had to do it before you signed the contract. The contract would have stated that you would not hire any other lawyer other than this one you are working with and any fees he was charging would have been outlined. I am guessing you're paying a percentage of what you're collecting and then for any fees that he incurred on your behalf (like photographer, for medical records, private investigator, etc). Unfortunately, once you sign the contract, it's binding and you're stuck.

i'm not entirely sure which fees the lawyer referred to. if only one case was filed, there should only be one set of court costs--fees for filing the court papers and serving the lawsuit on the defendants. regarding attorneys fees: there should have been a written agreement about the % of the damages the attorney would recover before the lawsuit was ever filed. hopefully that was the case, in which case both you and attorney are bound by the plain meaning of the words of the written agreement. if nothing in writing, what was your understanding of the agreement as to lawyer fees? i never did personal injury work, but it doesn't seem right if lawyer is bringing up changes in your agreement (written or verbal) when the case is at a close. i do not know enough about the situation to know if the proposal is fair or not. if it doesn't seem like your original agreement to you, or you feel the fees are unfair, you should file a complaint with the state bar association where the lawyer is, and is presumably licensed. the cost of an attorney's professional time is expensive. attorney's fees in personal injury cases are especially controversial because they are commonly contingency fees. that is, what the lawyer makes is a % of the money he secures for you from the defendant. so if you get nothing, he gets nothing. if you get a wad of money, he gets a % of that wad. while there are many complaints about the money personal injury lawyers make from this arrangement, the concept is essentially fair and sound. the lawyer is assuming a risk in taking the case in that he may be unable to earn anything for all his work. some lawsuits, such as the initial lawsuits filed against the tobacco companies, cost the lawyers who filed them a great deal of time and money but the suits were generally unsuccessful since it was a new idea for both the public (therefor the jury) as well as legal system. there was a great deal of resistance to giving the plaintiff any money for his/her damages since the smoker voluntarily chose to smoke. it wasn't after a great deal of time and energy was spent in finding (usually in the legal discovery process allowed after suit is filed) that tobacco companies knew the risks of smoking but actively concealed it from the consumers that plaintiff lawyers began to win these lawsuits and change public perception. frequently personal injury suits are the little guy against the big guy and the big guy makes it as hard as possible to win. so lawyers taking such cases take a big risk in taking them. the public complains when the lawyer wins big, and takes a big slice for himself, but the idea is to encourage lawyers to take these kinds of suits so the little people of the public will be able to get a lawyer for these kinds of cases. which is a long,long way of saying, its not unfair just cause the lawyer gets lots of money. but it should be based on your agreement and understanding when you first hired him.