The Benefits Of Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney

Understanding Louisiana Contingency Fee Agreements

One of the most common questions we hear from potential clients is, What will this cost me? It’s a totally fair and understandable concern. After all, you’re already dealing with medical bills, missed work, and stress from the accident. The last thing you need is to worry about paying a lawyer up front.

That’s why we work on a contingency fee basis. In simple terms, you pay nothing unless we win or settle your case. If we recover compensation for you, we receive a set percentage of that recovery as our fee.

• If we don’t win, you don’t pay us. Period.

At the Waltzer Wiygul & Garside, we go a step further. We’ve built our fee structure with fairness in mind. How? For starters, you always take home more than we do. If the numbers don’t work out that way, we adjust our fee. You’re the one who was injured, so you should never walk away with less than your lawyer.

Our fees are also on a sliding scale. The earlier we resolve your case, like before filing a lawsuit, the lower the percentage charged. If it goes to trial or appeal, the percentage adjusts, but it does so transparently and fairly. This approach ensures you don’t just get skilled legal representation but that you get it without added financial pressure and with the confidence that we’re truly in it together.

Negotiating Lower Medical Bills

Settling your case is only part of the process. What really matters is what you take home in the end. That’s why, once a settlement is reached, we shift focus to reducing the medical bills and insurance claims that could cut into your recovery. And we do it in every case we can.

Once we’ve reached a settlement, our next job is to maximize what you actually keep. That includes negotiating:

• Medical bills from hospitals, doctors, and emergency rooms
• Health insurance liens, also called subrogation claims
• Any other outstanding costs tied to your treatment

We fight for every penny, not just in your claim but after the claim is over, too.

This is a crucial advantage that most people overlook. Without an attorney, you might get a settlement but still walk away with little or nothing after paying providers and insurers.

Increased Chances Of A Higher Settlement

No attorney can promise a specific outcome, but here’s what we can say: You’re far more likely to recover more, both in value and in structure, when an experienced attorney represents you.

That’s not just about getting a bigger number. It’s about knowing how to present your case effectively to insurance adjusters, how to organize and submit the right medical evidence, and how to work with trusted providers to properly document your care. It also means handling liens and subrogation the right way and timing your settlement carefully to avoid leaving money on the table.

We’ve seen many clients come to us after trying to manage a claim on their own, only to end up overwhelmed, underpaid, or out of options. When we step in, the outcome improves.

When You Lawyer Up, Insurance Pays Attention

Insurance companies exist to protect their bottom line. If they can delay, deny, or minimize your claim, they absolutely will. And once you accept a settlement, even a lowball offer, it’s over. In one move, you’ve signed away your rights. Having a lawyer tells the insurance company: I mean business.

In fact, not all attorneys are treated equally, either. At our firm, we’ve built a reputation over decades with major insurance companies. They know we’re not afraid to take a case to trial. That means they often deal with us more seriously and more fairly than with a less experienced or less aggressive lawyer.

How Good Legal Planning Help Keeps Your Case On Track

From day one, we work to eliminate surprises. At your very first meeting with us, we begin gathering documentation, identifying all available insurance coverage, mapping out your treatment and claim process, and flagging any potential issues like unpaid medical bills or health insurance subrogations.

This road-mapping process ensures you’re not blindsided at the end of your case by paperwork, billing issues, or delays in getting paid. A fast settlement is meaningless if you wait months to see the money. We make sure that doesn’t happen.

Our job is straightforward: we help you get better, maximize what you recover, minimize what you owe, and make sure the money ends up in your hands quickly.