Fees and Documents Required in Case of an Automobile Accident
Lawyer’s Fees
The lawyer’s fees in case of automobile accidents are the only lawyer’s fees established by law. Therefore, the lawyer cannot decide how much he will charge, and special agreements between clients and lawyers are not allowed. The established fees are exact; there are no minimum or maximum percentages.
The Lawyer`s Fees are (excluding the MA’AM, - VAT taxes):
- If an agreement is reached outside of court: 8% of the final amount received;
- If an agreement is reached after the lawyer has filed a legal claim, even if such claim is not made before court (these represent 80% of all cases): 11%;
- If an agreement is not reached outside of court and the judge decides after studying the case: 13%;
- If in the end of the case the client does not receive any amount (extremely rare cases representing less than 0.1% of all cases), the lawyer cannot charge the client any fees.
Extra General Expenses: there are small expenses, between 100-400 Shekels, that must be paid by the client, usually at the end of the legal proceeding.
Specific Expenses: mandatory fee if the case is taken to court is 750 Shekels, and up to 2,000 Shekels in special and expensive cases at the Beit Mishpat Mehozi.
Taxes (MAAM) on the lawyer’s fees: 16%.
Documents Required (partial list)
The following is a list of document copies (original documents are not necessary) that you will be required to provide to your lawyer in the case of an average automobile accident. You may be required to present additional documentation for a more complicated case.
In case of physical injury:
- Driver’s license (both sides)
- Vehicle registration
- Policy of mandatory insurance
- Identity card
- Record of complaint with the police
- All medical documents relating to the accident
- Ambulance, taxi and other receipts that are directly related to the accident
- If applicable, pictures of body parts
In case of property damage:
- Driver’s license (both sides)
- Vehicle registration
- Policy of mandatory insurance
- Identity card
- Record of complaint with the police
- Receipts of any kind that are directly or indirectly related to the accident
- Pictures of the accident or at least a drawing on paper of the place of the accident, with details such as street names, position of the vehicle, etc
- All information on other vehicles and drivers involved in the accident
- If applicable, personal information of any person that may testify as a witness in favor of you
I hope that you will not need a lawyer`s services in this area, drive carefully!
Sincerely,
Tzvi Szajnbrum, Attorney at Law