How Much Does a Denver Bike Accident Lawyer Charge on Contingency?

Most Denver bike accident lawyers, including Bike Brain Law, work on contingency. You pay nothing up front. The fee is a percentage of what is recovered, paid at the end of the case out of the settlement or verdict. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.

The percentage is the part people want to know and few firms publish. In Colorado, personal injury contingency fees commonly run from one third of the recovery for a case that settles before a lawsuit is filed to 40 percent once a lawsuit is filed, with a higher percentage if the case is appealed. The exact number is set in the fee agreement, and it should be the first thing you read.

What the fee agreement has to say in Colorado

Colorado requires every contingent fee agreement to be in writing and signed by the client. Under Colorado Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(c), the agreement has to state the percentage or percentages that apply at each stage (settlement, trial, appeal), which litigation costs will be deducted from the recovery, and whether those costs come out before or after the fee is calculated. At the end of the case the attorney has to give you a written closing statement showing the recovery, the fee, the costs, and what you receive.

If an attorney hands you a one page agreement that says "one third" and nothing else, that is a red flag. Read the scope section too. Here is what the agreement needs to say about litigation and trial.

Costs are not the fee

This is where people get surprised. The fee is the attorney's percentage. Costs are what it takes to build the case: the police report, medical records, filing fees, deposition transcripts, and expert witnesses. In a brain injury case the expert costs alone can run into five figures.

Firms handle costs differently. Some advance every cost and repay themselves from the recovery. Some deduct costs before the percentage is applied, some after, and the difference on a large recovery is real money. Some hold the client responsible for costs even if the case is lost. Colorado's rule requires the agreement to spell this out, so ask, and make sure the answer is on paper before you sign.

Why a percentage instead of an hourly rate

A brain injury or bike crash client usually cannot afford to pay a lawyer by the hour while they are also missing work and paying medical bills. Contingency shifts the risk to the attorney. It also aligns the incentive: the attorney only does well if the client does.

The trade is that a contingency lawyer has to be selective. A firm that takes every case cannot afford to try any of them. That selectivity is worth asking about. If a firm says yes to you in the first five minutes without asking about the crash, the injuries, or the insurance, ask why.

Why the percentage goes up in litigation

A case that settles after a demand letter takes weeks of work. A case that goes into litigation takes a year or more of discovery, depositions, expert preparation, and motions, and the attorney fronts all of it. The higher litigation percentage reflects that, and it is also the reason a lawyer who names trial in the agreement has more leverage with the insurer than one who does not. Colorado's comparative negligence rule is one of the main reasons bike cases end up in litigation: insurers push fault onto the cyclist, and sometimes the only way to answer that is in front of a jury.

Questions to ask before you sign

What is the percentage at each stage? Are costs deducted before or after the fee? Who pays costs if we lose? Does the fee change if you refer my case to another firm? Will I get a written closing statement? Any attorney who hesitates on those has told you something.

How this plays out at Bike Brain Law

Bike Brain Law works on contingency. There is nothing to pay up front, the fee comes out of the recovery, and the initial consultation is free with no obligation. The fee agreement is in writing, it covers negotiation and trial, and every question above gets a plain answer at the first meeting.

Call 303.831.1116 for a free consultation.

Have a question about your case?

Attorney Dan D'Angelo offers free consultations for brain injury and cycling accident victims throughout Colorado.

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