Many people don't consider hiring a lawyer because they think they all charge by the hour and at high rates. But in personal injury and medical malpractice cases, lawyers usually don't charge by the hour, they work on a contingent fee basis.

Under the contingent fee arrangement clients don't pay on an hourly basis. Attorneys earn a fee only when they are successful in winning money damages. Not only that, the fee is an agreed upon percentage of the amount recovered, which ordinarily doesn't change regardless of the size of the settlement.

This arrangement makes it possible for anyone to hire the very best lawyer to decide if there are grounds for a claim, without paying for that advice. More importantly, it gives everyone access to the justice system and representation equal to the best that insurance companies, doctors, and other defendants can hire.