On This page
    woman speaking with attorney

    Among the questions that prospective clients often ask are inquiries about attorney fees and the expenses related to pursuing a personal injury or workers’ comp case. Most people who have been seriously injured are out of work and struggling to get back on their feet. If that sounds like your situation, you may recognize that you need an attorney, but you may be unsure how you can afford an attorney. Our personal injury and workers’ comp attorneys at Joye Law Firm handle injury claims on a contingency fee basis, which means you will not have any up front out of pocket costs if we help you.

    Our attorneys at Joye Law Firm handle a broad range of personal injury claims including auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and fall cases, product liability cases, and wrongful death cases. We also have extensive experience handling workers’ comp cases for injuries and illnesses that happen on the job. Having helped so many injured people, we understand that you are going through one of the toughest experiences of your life. Because of an injury or loss caused by someone else’s negligence, your world has been turned upside down. The last thing you should be worrying about is how to afford an attorney.

    Joye Law Firm has been in business since 1968 and has offices in Charleston, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Summerville, and Clinton. An initial case review with a personal injury attorney at Joye Law Firm is free. Talking to an experienced injury lawyer about your injury is a good way to inform yourself about your legal choices. There’s no obligation. If our attorneys believe that you have a valid personal injury case, we will offer to represent you on a contingency fee basis. You will not pay an attorney’s fee unless we obtain money for you. Below, we present additional information about attorney fees and case costs.

    Personal Injury Attorney Fees – How Does the Lawyer Get Paid?

    A contingency fee arrangement allows a person who has been injured in a car crash or other personal injury accident to obtain experienced legal representation without paying any money upfront to hire a lawyer.

    Contingent fee arrangements are common in personal injury cases such as car accidents and slip and fall accidents.

    If you would like to learn more, click on the following video about attorney fees.

    What is a Contingency Fee?

    The attorneys at Joye Law Firm typically represent personal injury clients on a contingency fee basis.

    If you decide to be represented by Joye Law Firm, we’ll sign a retainer agreement that states that our legal fee is contingent on winning your case—whether that involves a negotiated settlement or a court verdict. That gives us an incentive to obtain the largest settlement or jury award feasible for you.

    The retainer document will specify the legal fee that would be applied to any recovery obtained on your behalf.

    If our attorneys are successful, we receive a portion of the amount obtained through a settlement or court award to cover our legal fees and case expenses. The typical fee is 33.3 percent if the case doesn’t go to court. In the event a lawsuit is filed, our fee increases to 40 percent. This increase accounts for the significant additional time, resources, and manpower involved in preparing for a trial to ensure the successful handling of your case. South Carolina attorney fees are governed by the South Carolina Judicial Branch’s Rule 1.5 which forbids lawyers from collecting an unreasonable fee.

    We will fight for you to obtain full compensation because we recognize that you have suffered unjust harm and need assistance. If we don’t win your case or obtain money for you, you don’t owe us anything.

    Settling a Car Accident Case in SC

    When a car accident case is settled, there are typically three things that are deducted from the total settlement amount before the client receives a check.

    • the car accident lawyer fee
    • case costs
    • medical expenses related to the accident.

    The legal fee is typically 33.3 percent of the recovery for cases that are resolved before a lawsuit has been filed. In some instances, the fee percentage may be reduced to ensure that the client receives a larger settlement than the attorney’s fee. In cases where a lawsuit is filed, our fee percentage increases to 40 percent to account for the additional resources needed to take a case to trial.

    Medical costs can be a big-ticket item. At Joye Law Firm, we pride ourselves on negotiating with healthcare providers to discount medical costs. We work to settle the medical debts for the least amount possible. We have handled cases where the client suffered extremely serious injuries and racked up $300,000 to $400,000 in medical bills. Our attorneys were able to negotiate with the healthcare provider to write off a significant portion of the costs. In the end, the hospital ultimately agreed to accept $40,000 or $50,000 from a settlement, clearing the victim of thousands of dollars of medical debt.

    Types of Expenses that Occur in a Personal Injury Lawsuit

    Legal costs can be minimal in some simple personal injury cases. In more complex cases, like product liability cases, expenses may run into tens of thousands of dollars. Joye Law Firm is committed to spending the time and money it takes to prepare and prosecute each personal injury case successfully, so the client has the best chance of receiving a full recovery.

    At Joye Law Firm, our client never pays out of pocket for case costs, associated with the investigation of a case, fees to hire expert witnesses, medical record fees, cost of depositions, and court filing fees. Joye Law Firm pays those costs and then gets reimbursed ONLY if we are successful in obtaining an insurance settlement or court award.

     In cases where we do not win, our practice is to write off the case costs as a business loss.

    What are the Costs and Fees of My Workers Comp Settlement?

    If you are considering hiring a lawyer to deal with a disputed workers’ compensation claim, you may have wondered: How much will I have to pay a workers’ comp lawyer?

    The workers’ comp attorneys fee and case costs are deducted from the workers’ compensation settlement.

    The attorney fee is set by the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation regulations. The fee is 33 percent of the settlement amount. Every fee has to be approved by the Workers Compensation Commission.

    Case costs in a workers’ compensation case may vary widely, depending on the complexity of the case and what our law firm needs to do to put the client in the best position for a successful claim and the maximum recovery.

    Click on the video below to learn more about how attorney fees are calculated in a South Carolina workers’ comp settlement:

    In some cases, the case costs may only be a few hundred dollars. However, in many cases, it is necessary to hire a doctor for an independent medical examination and to have a vocational assessment of the injured worker by a vocational consultant. For example, in cases involving a workplace repetitive trauma injury, the hiring of an ergonomics consultant may be needed to prove the claim. The hiring of medical professionals and other specialists can raise the case costs to several thousand dollars.

    Typically, the workers’ compensation insurance provider is responsible for covering all authorized medical treatment in a successful workers’ compensation claim. There should not be outstanding medical bills deducted from the workers’ compensation settlement.

    How Does Joye Law Firm Handle Attorney Fees?

    Joye Law Firm has a guarantee that the law firm has not filed a lawsuit, then the firm never receives an attorney fee that is larger than the amount the client receives from a case settlement. If the law firm has to reduce its legal fee percentage so the client walks away with the majority of the money, then we will. It is important to note that not all law firms offer this guarantee to their clients.

    For example, if the client has $12,000 of medical bills that need to be paid and there is only $25,000 in insurance coverage available for a settlement, the firm is not going to charge a full 33.3 percent legal fee from the settlement. We will reduce our fee, so the client comes away with more money than we got paid. We think that is only fair since the client is the one who suffered the injury.

    Contact Our South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers

    Our attorneys at Joye Law Firm have been helping injured people in South Carolina since 1968. Our attorneys have both been recognized as Super Lawyers in South Carolina and have been awarded a coveted AV rating, denoting the highest level of ethics and legal ability, from the distinguished Martindale-Hubbell legal directory. Our firm has also won numerous awards, including being voted the Best Law Firm by the Charleston City Paper’s 2023 contest.

    Every case stands on its own and past results are not predictive of the outcome of your case. However, our record of verdicts and settlements is indicative of the experience we have in handling complex personal injury cases and the efforts we make to help clients. Understanding your legal options is the first step toward seeking financial recovery for the injuries you have sustained due to someone else’s negligence. Review the comments that former clients shared about their experience working with the attorneys and staff at Joye Law Firm, then contact us to learn how we may assist you.

    Free Case Review
    Attorney Image