In addition to hiring an oil spill lawyer on a contingent fee basis someone who has an BP Gulf oil spill claim can pursue their claim for reimbursement or money damages by hiring or retaining a lawyer on an hourly basis.

If you choose to hire a lawyer on an hourly basis you will have to confront three, sometime harsh, economic realities.

First, a lawyer that knows what he/she is doing will have a good idea of the amount of time they may have to invest in pursuing a claim and their retainer requiement will reflect this. So, if a lawyer knows that a claim, if it doesn’t settle, may take 100+ hours to resolve, the lawyers request for a retainer will reflect this analysis. This could mean a retainer of $25,000.00 or more, just for the lawyers time and office overhead, will be required. So be prepared for a substantial up front cost or payment.

Second, experienced lawyers or trial lawyers that accept retainers to be billed against on an hourly basis, will often charge $250.00 to $400.00+ an hour. So the bills can add up quickly and retainers may need to be replenished. Worse, the “control” of the fees or time invested isn’t entirely in the lawyer’s hands. The defendant or defense counsel can often “run up the bill” by filing motions (extra legal proceedings in court) or by fighting about every little issue of fact or law. So the final legal fee or bill can far exceed the retainer and can be unpredictible.

Third, in addition to “payin the lawyer” a client, in a non-contingent fee case, will usually be expected to pay for all expert fees and costs, in addition to any other out-of-pocket costs paid by the lawyer or law firm. Such costs can add up quickly, as a single expert – one who might have to travel to examine evidence and travel again to appear for a deposition – can quickly run up a bill in the thousands of dollars.

So, before you agree to retain an oil spill lawyer on an hourly basis you will need to very carefully assess the viability of your oil spill claim, the complexity of your claim, the need for expert testimony, the size of your claim, and your ability to pay and fund the prosecution of your claim to the point of settlement or judgment, and possibly an appeal.

In most cases, the “safest” approach to retaining a lawyer to pursue an oil spill claim will be on a contingent fee basis, but each case must be evaluated on its own to make that decision. Since many law firms will offer a free initial consultation in accident or injury claims you will likely be able to discuss your case with more than one lawyer before choosing a law firm to handle your claim.

If you have a claim for compensation from BP for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and you are considering seeking legal advice, but are concerned about paying a lawyer, then one solution may be retaining or hiring a BP oil spill lawyer on a contingent fee basis.

What is a contingent fee? A contingent fee is a fee that is literally “contingent upon” or only payable in the case of a successful recovery of money damages. I most cases that means “no recovery, no fee”. (You will often see lawyers advertising in the local yellowpages use the phrase “No Recovery. No Fee”. This means they are willing to accept accident or personal injury cases based upon a contingent fee agreement.)

The amount of the fee a lawyer can charge, based upon a contingent fee agreement, is typically set by the judicial arm (the courts) of the State in which the agreement is entered into. This can vary from State to State. It may also vary based upon the status of the claimant (an imcompetent) or the age of the injured party or claimant (a minor may be subject to a lesser or lower maximum fee).

One thing you should understand is that contingent fee agreements are not based upon rules that are written in stone. While an upper limit or percentgage of the “fee portion” of a recovery (the amount subject to a contingent fee or the “maximum fee” / maximum percentage that may be charged) is usually established by Court rule or State statute a lower percentage or lower limit (cap) fee is or can be negotiated with a lawyer on a case by case basis.

So, what should you do?

First, determine if the lawyer you plan to consult with accepts cases on a contingent fee basis.

Second, determine if their agreement is an “all or nothing” agreement. In other words, “no recovery means no fees AND no reimbursement of their out-of-pocket costs”.

Third, ask if their contingent fee percentage or cap is “flexible” or negotiable. Many experienced attorneys will not negotiate their contingent fee, in part because IF they accept difficult cases as well as more clear cut cases THEN, to a degree, the “easier fees” (rare, but not never) tend to help “wash out” the losses incurred (both invested time and money) in the more challenging cases. You can ask but be prepared for a simple “No” answer.

On the other hand, if you have a substantial and readily determined claim then it may be possible that a lawyer will craft a tiered-contingent-fee agreement. In such an agreement the fee would be payable based upon the stage at which the claim is settled and paid, with a lower fee paid if the claim is settled early and a full fee if the claim is only paid after litigation is necessistated by the failure of BP (or any defendant) to pay and settle a good faith claim.

Fourth and foremost: Read the contingent fee agreement before signing it. Take your time and actually read it. Ask questions if any part of the agreement is unclear to you. If it is, ask that the lawyer make the language clearer or unambiguous. It should be rare that a contingent fee agreement needs rewriting since such agreements are used many times, over many years and are often standardardized by Court rule. However, you are a consumer and, as a consumer you are in the driver’s seat in any transaction. Just realize that if you have serious doubts a) you may be reading into an agreement something that’s not really a concern; or, b) you may, in fact, have confronted a real issue and if that’s the case then it may also be the case that the last person to “explain it to you” is the person who wrote the dubious agreement. I would say such a case is extremely rare, as a lawyer will realize he or she can be sanctioned for bad acts and the evidence would be of their own making.

Finally, you should know that even though contingent fees are common in cases where someone or some company has been injured in their person or property, it is also possible for such cases to be handled based upon an hourly rate or other fee agreement.

It will be critically important for anyone or any company, intending to make a claim against BP / British Petroleum for losses caused by the BP oil spill, to collect, organize and preserve evidence to support their claim against BP.

In order to determine what evidence you will need to keep it will be critical that you receive timely legal advice from a lawyer familiar with the law and rules of evidence that will apply to your claim. There may be variations of the legal requirements based upon the jurisdiction or venue “what the lawsuit” is filed. There may be variations in the evidentiary requirements based upon the statute or law under which the lawsuit claim is filed with the courts.

First and foremost, it is important to collect evidence that accurately reflects the degree of harm or losses that you sustained directly from the BP oil spill.

By “accurately” I mean that it is and will always be important that the damages you claim are, in fact, damages that are, in your “good faith belief”, casually related to the oil spill.

There is one lesson I have learned from practicing law for almost 30 years and that is that nothing on the scale of justice is quite so harmful to a claimant or litigant as evidence of dishonesty. You can have the most egregious injury or harm, but if you attempt to “guild the lilly” by making false or inflated claims you can quickly see the real value of your claim start to go down the sewer.

Yes, there will be moral outrage about the BP oil spill and, yes, it’s likely that jurors will respond to evidence that the Gulf oil spill was caused by something more than happenstance or simple human error. However, you can also be certain that judges, jurors and the public will be equally outraged by those who will attempt to wrongfully profit from this catastrophe and that BP – as any defendant – can be counted on to closely scrutinize claims and cry “foul” when someone submits false claims.

If you are planning to submit a claim against BP or if it’s possible, as the oil plumes drift, that you may in the future be forced to submit a claim for damages against BP, then it is critical that you begin collecting all evidence that will honestly and accurately support that claim.

Keep the ultimate deciders of all claims against BP / British Petroleum – the jurors and juries in any BP oil spill lawsuit – on your side by establishing, by a complete and accurate record of the facts and evidence of your economic losses caused by the oil spill, that you are a victim of BP’s neglect and not a perpetrator of wrong yourself.

According to a recent online “newswire” Morgan and Morgan, a personal injury law firm with offices throughout Florida and the Southeast, is “currently reviewing BP oil spill claims” of members of the commercial fishing industry who have suffered economic losses as a result of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

As you know from the news various Gulf ishing grounds have been closed and boats have been docked due to the oil polluting the waters. Commercial fishermen, boat owners and captains, deckhands and others who depend on the Gulf waters for their livelihood and income are suffering economic losses and will remain at risk to additional losses for the indefinite future.

According to the law firm’s newswire commercial fishermen in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and other areas may be entitled to compensation for the financial losses they have suffered as a result of the BP oil spill under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which may make companies who are responsible for oil spills liable for the resulting economic harm and damages.

Potential claimants should probably first talk to their personal or business attorney before making a decision to join or forego joining any of the likely many class action lawsuits against BP / British Petroleum since joining or accepting a settlement from a class-action lawsuit can have a significant impact on an individual’s rights and remedies.

As always, it is and will continue to be important to carefully document all past, present and future losses that any individual or company claims is related to the spill. Documentation should include photographs, witness statements, all financial records (past versus present), and more. Consult with your lawyer about what evidence you should collect and preserve.

According to an article in BusinessWeek magazine BP has filed papers with in federal court to attempt to have all BP oil spill litigation brought together or “consolidated” in a single court in Houston, Texas.

It is not uncommon for defendants, such as BP Oil, or plaintiff lawyers to seek to have multiple claims, arising out of a single “event”, joined in a single court. It is equally common for defendants to seek to have litigation consolidated in a court or jurisdiction that it believes will be sympathetic or “friendly” (judges, jurors) to the defendant’s interests. So, no surprise that BP would seek to have all litigation fall within the courts of “oil city” Houston.

Frankly, I think it’s a bad move from both a public relations perspective and from a procedural prospective.

From a PR perspective the effort to force all litigation into an “oil city, oil friendly court” clearly positions BP “doing what is good for BP”. No unexpected but not without consequence. Perception begets reality. Could “big oil” have afforded “the risk” of allowing the victims their choice of court?

From a procedural perspective I would imagine that various States, cities, counties, towns and other governmental agencies will be filing claims for lost tax revenues, damage to government property and other claims. Given the real and strong local government interests should ALL litigation be move “out of State”?

What may be really interesting is if the oil spill, through forces of nature or fate, begins to migrate to the beaches and inland waterways of Texas. Then how sympathetic will the jurors and jurists be to the plight of “the injured”?

BP has repeated said that it will pay all reasonable and necessary response costs and is committed to paying legitimate claims for other loss and/or damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon incident.

BP has told Congress and the news media that it takes “full responsibility” for responding to the Deepwater Horizon incident, and will pay appropriate compensation. Please note that “responsibility for responding” isn’t the same as “responsibility for paying for all the harm”. This is carefully crafted language. Don’t be mislead.

According to BP, Individual and businesses may file a claim in one of three ways:

1. Call the Deepwater Horizon response hotline number at 1-800-440-0858
2. File a claim online at www.bp.com/claims
3. Visit one of BP’s Claims Centers.

http://www.bp.com/claims

BP further advises that their “Claim Representatives” will then take the following actions:

* Contact the claimant.
* Obtain and verify the your identity and collect a detailed description of the claim. In most cases, claims can be handled over the phone, with you providing documentation by mail, e-mail or fax. In some instances the Claim Representative will meet with you to obtain additional information and documentation.
* Inspect and photograph damaged property. A repair/replacement estimate may be prepared.
* For business interruption losses, Claims Representatives will determine the amount of time the business was not operational. They will request financial records including profit and loss statements and tax returns.

If a claim is rejected, you will be notified in writing that no payment will be made, and the reason for that decision.

Regarding “Interim Payments” BP has stated that it is appropriate for BP to provide interim payments to claimants who are not receiving their ordinary income or profit while cleanup is underway. This allows for additional documents to be provided by the claimant and for the claim to be fully evaluated.

* Within 48 hours of receiving supporting documentation, the claim will be evaluated and you will be notified if an advance payment will be provided for your claim.
* The advance payment will be up to the equivalent of one month lost income, based on the documentation you have provided to support the claim. This advance is not based on actual income and may need to be adjusted for any secondary payment if the advance exceeds actual income. If a second payment is necessary, such payment will be based on actual loss of income and the documents provided. If the event continues beyond 1 month, claimants will continue to receive any future payments electronically.
* The check for the advance payment will be available at the nearest BP Claims Center, the location of which will be communicated to the you. Alternative arrangements can be made if this method of check delivery is not feasible.

The above information is from BP’s website and is correct as of May 28, 2010. You should check BP’s official claims page before proceeding.

BP Gulf Oil Spill Claim Procedure

A tragedy of the scale of the BP gulf oil platform fire that killed and injured dozens, and the subsequent and continuing oil spill, which has and will continue to harm the personal and economic interests of millions, if not tens of millions of Americans, inevitably leads to lawsuits and lititation. Therefore, it is not surprising that many thousands of people have either contacted their lawyer or have been contacted by lawyers.

If you have been injured by the BP gulf oil spill what should you be doing right now?

First, you should take steps to minimize any further harm to your person or property. Get competent advice about the risks of oil contamination and how to avoid or deal with those risks. A good place to get information will likely be your local or State “Board of Health” or similar agency. You will also find helpful information on the U.S. EPA website (linked to in the sidebar of this website) and on the BP oil website.

After taking steps to protect yourself, your family, your pets and your property you should begin carefully documenting your losses, by photographs, videos and witness statements (neighbors, friends) who can testify as to “before and after conditions”.

Economic losses can be tricky to document, especially if you have not been entirely candid about past income. If you wish to claim significant economic losses then be prepared to prove past income that was reported on tax returns. This is a tricky area for some and requires speaking with your accountant or lawyer before presenting a claim.

Generally, the law requires that an accident victim take steps to “mitigate damages”, which means that you take “reasonable action” to attempt to mimimize losses. You need not expose yourself to unreasonable risk to do this. Since oil containment and remediation is an area of expertise chances are you will not be expected to “clean up the mess” to avoid harm. However, get information about what to do from your local health officials before attempting to do anything.

Should you “get a lawyer right now”? The answer varies based upon your circumstances and intelligence. If you have suffered significant harm and are facing immediate hardship then the answer is probably “yes” – talk to a lawyer now. If you are able to continue functioning but have suffered limited or manageable losses then there is the chance that you will either be able to settle your claim by yourslf or at a later time – allowing yourself time to carefully select a law firm to represent you for your oil spill related claims.