Call 24/7 · Free Consultation
Call 24/7 · Free Consultation
Short answer: nothing upfront. Car accident cases are handled on a contingency fee — you pay no attorney fee unless we win, and the agreement is in writing before we start. Hablamos Español.
Edgar P. Lombera
Personal Injury Attorney · 15+ Years
How much does a car accident lawyer cost? At the Law Offices of Edgar Lombera, nothing upfront. Cases are handled on a contingency fee — you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you, and the fee comes out of the recovery, never your pocket. The agreement is in writing before work begins, and the consultation is free. Call (909) 915-0181 (Redlands) or (760) 835-9353 (Palm Springs).
A contingency fee means the lawyer’s payment is contingent on winning: instead of charging by the hour or asking for a retainer, the attorney receives an agreed percentage of whatever money is recovered for you — by settlement or verdict. If there is no recovery, there is no attorney fee. That’s the entire model, and it’s how our firm handles every car accident, truck, motorcycle, and injury case.
California law adds a layer of protection: under the State Bar’s rules, a contingency fee agreement must be in writing, must state how the fee is calculated, and must explain how case costs are handled (see the State Bar of California’s consumer guidance at calbar.ca.gov). You sign it — and get a copy — before we do any work. Nothing about your fee is a surprise, a handshake, or fine print you discover later.
What that means on day one: hiring an experienced accident attorney costs you $0 out of pocket. No hourly bills while you’re off work. No invoice while you’re in physical therapy. We only get paid when you do.
The percentage is the number everyone wants to know — and the honest answer is that it’s set by your written agreement, not by a statewide rule. What percentage do personal injury lawyers take? In practice, contingency percentages vary with how far the case must go: a claim that resolves in pre-litigation negotiation involves less attorney time and risk than one that requires filing suit, depositions, and trial preparation, and fee agreements commonly reflect that difference in stages.
At your free consultation, we walk through our exact fee structure, stage by stage, and put every number in the written agreement before you sign. You’ll know precisely how much lawyers charge for a car accident case like yours — and you’ll have it in writing. What we will never do is quote a vague number on a webpage and change it in your contract.
One more thing worth saying plainly: the percentage only ever applies to money we actually recover. No recovery, no fee — the risk is on us, not you.
Two different things get paid in an injury case, and a trustworthy fee page explains both:
If your case doesn’t result in a recovery, you owe no attorney fee. How case costs are treated in that situation is also stated in the written agreement — ask us at the consultation and we’ll show you the exact language. Clear answers before you sign are part of how much a good accident attorney is worth.
The driver who hit you has an insurance company with adjusters and defense lawyers on salary. Without contingency fees, only people who could afford hourly attorney rates could fight back. The contingency model means an injured warehouse worker in Fontana gets the same caliber of representation as anyone else — because the lawyer is paid from the result, not from the client’s savings. It also aligns incentives: the more your case is actually worth, the harder it is worth fighting for, and quick lowball settlements cost the lawyer too, not just you.
That’s also why the insurance company’s first offer usually arrives before you’ve hired anyone. Adjusters know that once an accident lawyer is involved at no upfront cost to you, the cheap-settlement window closes. Before you accept any offer, use the free consultation — at minimum you’ll learn what your claim involves; there’s no bill either way.
We represent car accident victims from two local offices — Redlands and Palm Springs — serving San Bernardino, Riverside, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Moreno Valley, Hemet, Cathedral City, Indio, and Palm Desert. Crashes on I-10, I-15, I-215, SR-60, SR-91, SR-210, and Highway 111 are our daily work. Start with our car accident lawyer page for how we build these cases, or the personal injury overview for everything we handle — including truck accidents and motorcycle accidents, which follow the same no-upfront-fee model.
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Common questions about accident attorney fees. For answers about your specific case, call (909) 915-0181 (Redlands) or (760) 835-9353 (Palm Springs).
No. There is no retainer, no hourly billing, and no upfront payment of any kind. The attorney fee is a contingency fee paid from the recovery — and only if there is one. The consultation is free too.
The percentage is set in your written fee agreement and commonly varies by stage — resolving in negotiation versus filing suit and preparing for trial. California requires contingency agreements to be in writing with the calculation spelled out. We go through our exact structure, number by number, at the free consultation before you sign anything.
You owe no attorney fee if there is no recovery — that is the core promise of “no fee unless we win.” How case costs are handled in that situation is stated in the written agreement, and we’ll show you that exact language before you hire us.
We advance those case costs as the case proceeds, and they’re reconciled from the recovery at the end per the written agreement. You don’t fund the case out of pocket while you’re recovering.
Yes. Free, confidential, and bilingual (English/Spanish), at either office or by phone. If your case isn’t one we can add value to, we’ll tell you that honestly — there’s no bill either way.
That’s exactly the moment to get a free case review. First offers typically arrive before the full extent of injuries, treatment, and lost income is known. Since reviewing the offer costs you nothing, you lose nothing by checking whether it accounts for everything you’re owed.
Yes. Every personal injury case we handle — car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, dog bite, brain injury, wrongful death — is on contingency: nothing upfront, no fee unless we win.
Call for a free consultation. We explain the fee structure stage by stage, answer every cost question, and give you the written agreement to review — in English or Spanish — before you decide.
You pay nothing to find out exactly what your case involves and exactly how the fee works. If we take your case, you pay nothing unless we win it.
Two local offices. Available 24/7 for serious injuries. Free, confidential, and bilingual. Hablamos Español.
Law Offices of Edgar P. Lombera
2068 Orange Tree Lane, Suite 220
Redlands, CA 92374
Phone: (909) 915-0181
San Bernardino County · Free Consultation · Hablamos Español
Law Offices of Edgar P. Lombera
1276 N. Palm Canyon Dr., Suite 107
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Phone: (760) 835-9353
Coachella Valley · Free Consultation · Hablamos Español
$0 upfront · $0 unless we win
Contingency percentage set in a written agreement before work begins
California requires contingency fee agreements in writing
No pressure, no obligation — tell us about your crash and we’ll call you back with straight answers, including about cost. Formulario disponible en español también.
Attorney Advertising: The information on this page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes — every case is different, and results depend on the specific facts and law. Fee terms, including the contingency percentage and treatment of case costs, are established exclusively by a written fee agreement. No attorney-client relationship is formed until a written engagement agreement is signed.