Understanding How Your Lawyer Gets Paid After Medical Negligence
How do medical malpractice attorneys get paid? Most medical malpractice attorneys in Virginia work on a contingency fee basis, which means:
- No upfront costs – You don’t pay anything to hire your lawyer
- Payment only if you win – The attorney receives a percentage of your settlement or award (typically 33% to 40%)
- If you lose, you owe no attorney fees – Though you may be responsible for case costs depending on your agreement
When you’re facing mounting medical bills after a doctor’s mistake, the last thing you need is worry about how to afford a lawyer. The good news is that the contingency fee model gives injured patients access to experienced legal representation without any money down.
This payment structure aligns your attorney’s interests with yours. Your lawyer only gets paid when you get paid, which means they’re motivated to advocate for the maximum recovery possible. For medical malpractice cases in Virginia, this is the standard arrangement because these cases require significant time, expertise, and upfront investment in expert witnesses and medical evidence.
Understanding exactly how your attorney gets compensated helps you make informed decisions about your case. It also removes a major barrier that stops many people from seeking justice after medical negligence.
The Contingency Fee
When medical negligence turns your life upside down, you shouldn’t have to choose between getting justice and paying your bills. The contingency fee model removes this financial barrier. How medical malpractice attorneys get paid is directly tied to whether you win. We don’t collect a fee unless we successfully recover compensation for you.
This “no win, no fee” structure aligns our interests with yours. We are fully invested in advocating for the maximum recovery possible because we only get paid if you get paid.
What is a contingency fee arrangement?
A contingency fee arrangement means our legal fee is a percentage of the compensation we recover for you. Our payment is contingent on, or depends on, winning your case.
You pay nothing upfront: no retainer and no hourly fees. We only collect our fee after we win a settlement or court award for you.
This structure is the standard for Virginia medical malpractice cases because it provides access to justice for everyone, regardless of their financial situation. The specific percentage is agreed upon in a written fee agreement before we start, so there are no surprises.
What happens if a medical malpractice case is lost?
If your case is lost, you owe us no attorney fees. Zero. Our time, legal expertise, research, and strategy sessions are all on us. The law firm absorbs the financial risk of an unfavorable outcome.
Your fee agreement will clearly explain how litigation costs are handled. These are different from attorney fees and cover any out-of-pocket expenses.
Before you sign anything, we will walk you through every term of the agreement so you understand what happens in every scenario. We provide straightforward explanations that respect your right to make informed decisions about your case.
Breaking Down the Bill: Attorney Fees vs. Case Costs
When pursuing a medical malpractice claim in Virginia, it is important to understand the difference between attorney fees and case costs. Attorney fees are payment for our legal work, while case costs are the expenses required to build your case. Both are paid from your recovery, but they are calculated differently. We put everything in writing to ensure transparency and build trust.
What is the difference between attorney fees and litigation costs?
Attorney fees are our payment for legal work, like investigating your claim, negotiating, and representing you in court. This fee is a percentage of your recovery, and we only collect it if we win.
Case costs are the out-of-pocket expenses needed to move your case forward. These include court filing fees, medical record charges, and deposition transcription costs. The largest cost is typically for expert witnesses.
When you settle, any case costs we advanced are reimbursed first from the total settlement. Our contingency fee is then calculated on the remaining amount. You receive the final net recovery.
How Do Medical Malpractice Attorneys Get Paid in Virginia?
How do medical malpractice attorneys get paid in Virginia? The answer is almost always a contingency fee. This arrangement helps injured patients access legal representation without upfront costs.
Virginia law does not impose a strict cap on the percentage an attorney can charge, though all fees must be reasonable. This allows for flexibility in fee arrangements. However, Virginia does have strict limits on the total damages you can recover in a malpractice case. These caps can impact your recovery and how fees are calculated.
What percentage do medical malpractice attorneys in Virginia typically charge?
In Virginia, a typical contingency fee is between 33.3% and 40% of your final recovery. This percentage reflects the significant time, expertise, and financial investment required for these complex cases.
The exact percentage depends on your case’s complexity and the stage at which it resolves. For this reason, many Virginia attorneys use a sliding scale.
For example, a case that settles before a lawsuit is filed might have a lower fee, such as 33%. If the case settles after a lawsuit is filed and depositions are taken, the fee might increase. A case that goes through a full jury trial could have a fee of 40% to account for the extensive work and risk involved. This approach is fair, as it ensures the fee reflects the actual work performed.
How do medical malpractice attorneys get paid based on when a case settles?
The timing of a settlement directly affects the attorney’s fee. This structure incentivizes resolving the case efficiently while still maximizing your recovery.
In the early stages, before a lawsuit is filed, the fee might be around 33%. This work involves investigation, record gathering, and negotiation.
Once a lawsuit is filed, the case enters active litigation. The work intensifies with discovery, depositions, and complex legal motions.
If your case proceeds to a full trial, the fee typically reaches its maximum, often 40%. Trials require immense preparation and carry the highest risk, especially given Virginia’s strict contributory negligence rule. This graduated fee structure ensures compensation matches the effort invested at each stage.
Alternative Fee Structures and Final Payouts
While how do medical malpractice attorneys get paid is typically answered with “contingency fees,” it’s worth understanding why other payment arrangements are so rare for injured patients in Virginia. The contingency model is often the only realistic way most people can afford to hold negligent healthcare providers accountable. Once your case succeeds, there’s a structured process for distributing the settlement or award.
Are retainer fees or hourly rates ever used in medical malpractice?
For injured patients in Virginia, retainer fees and hourly billing are almost never used. A retainer is an upfront payment, and hourly billing means you pay for every hour your attorney works, win or lose.
Paying hundreds of dollars per hour for a case that could last years is impossible for most families. This is why Virginia malpractice attorneys for patients work on contingency.
While other fee structures exist in different areas of law, and defense attorneys in malpractice cases are paid hourly, the contingency fee is the standard for injured patients.
How are medical malpractice settlements paid out to the client and attorney?
After a successful settlement or verdict, the funds are deposited into a special law firm trust account. From there, the money is distributed in a specific order according to Virginia’s rules.
First, any liens are paid. A lien is a legal claim on your settlement from a provider like a hospital or your health insurance company for bills they covered.
Next, any case costs that our firm advanced are reimbursed from the settlement.
Then, we calculate and deduct our contingency fee from the remaining amount.
Finally, you receive the net recovery. You will get a check for this final amount along with a detailed statement showing how every dollar was distributed.
Conclusion
When you’re recovering from an injury caused by medical negligence, the last thing you should worry about is whether you can afford to hire a lawyer. That’s why understanding how do medical malpractice attorneys get paid in Virginia is so important. The contingency fee model exists specifically to remove financial barriers and give injured patients access to experienced legal representation, regardless of their current financial situation.
This payment structure means you can focus your energy where it belongs: on your physical recovery and your family. Meanwhile, we handle the complex legal work. Our interests are completely aligned with yours because we only succeed when you do.
At Burnett & Williams PC, we’ve built our reputation on responsive, caring client service. We believe in keeping you involved in every decision about your case while shouldering the legal burden ourselves. Our experienced Virginia attorneys understand the challenges you’re facing, and we’re committed to advocating for fair compensation after medical negligence has turned your life upside down.
If you believe a healthcare provider’s mistake has caused you harm, we invite you to reach out for a free case evaluation. There’s no cost to learn about your rights and options. We’ll listen to your story, answer your questions honestly, and help you understand the best path forward. You can learn more about our founder’s approach to these challenging cases on our page Peter Burnett on Medical Malpractice. Let us help you pursue the justice and financial recovery you need to move forward.