Photo Credit: Mercy Health, Flickr.

Typically when an individual is deciding to retain an attorney with regard to a personal injury case a retainer agreement will be provided with provisions in accordance with the mandates of the California State Bar.
Once a fee for the attorney service is negotiated, and all fees under California Law are negotiable except those for medical malpractice cases, then there will also be a provision which should be discussed by the attorney being interviewed which relates to additional expense of ‘costs’.

Under California Law, no attorney can pursue a claim for personal injuries without an “expectation of reimbursement” for the costs incurred in pursuing the case from his clients regardless of the outcome of the case. What this means is, that in addition to the attorney’s fee, the attorney is also requesting to be reimbursed for his out-of-pocket expenses, actually incurred, in the preparation and prosecution of the case.

These costs typically include those expenditures made outside of the attorney’s office which can include obtaining the traffic collision report from the appropriate law enforcement agency, copies of medical records and the fees for hiring the appropriate experts to substantiate the necessary elements of the claim being presented.

Typically these expenses or costs, are not very significant. They can vary from the $100’s to $1,000-$2,000 if the case is resolved prior to trial. However, the costs of pursuing the case, through trial, necessitates having witnesses appear live in court. Typically, some physicians charge $2,500-$10,000 in order to leave their practice to testify even for an hour or two in court.

Litigants are now also required to procure the services of their own court reporter and are required to pay daily jury fees in addition to the costs of having the necessary exhibits and equipment to present the case during trial. Typically, the cost expenditures in presenting even the simplest case at trial can easily exceed $10,000.

Although some of these costs can be recouped, upon the successful outcome of the case, often times the amount of the expenditures exceed the reimbursement recovered. This represents a further deduction from the client’s share of the recovery.

What costs should not include are any in-house expenses which the attorney incurs in the operation of his or her practice including the costs of their staff, legal assistants, copying, faxes, postage or other expenditures which are part of the resources of the attorney’s practice justifying the percentage fee that has been agreed to be paid for the underlying representation of the client.

It is also critical that the retained attorney makes every effort to minimize the expenses when necessary in order to avoid having unnecessary amounts deducted, at the conclusion of the case, from the client’s share of the recovery.

The attorney’s job, in representing the personal injury client, should be to maximize the net recovery of the client’s share of any settlement or verdict obtained.

Gary Sernaker has been representing personal injury victims for over 30 years doing exactly that. Mr. Sernaker’s extensive network of experts, investigators and other specialized personnel enable him to avoid incurring unnecessary expenses in order to maximize the net recovery for his clients.

If you are interested in discussing your case with him, please feel free to call (858) 509-0188 or email gsernaker@gmail.com.