How does the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee differ from other fee contracts?
Most law firms utilize a contingency fee contract where you pay as much as 40% of your recovery as attorneys fees no matter how quickly your case settles. With the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee, you only pay an hourly rate for the time we work on your case.
Can you show me how this works?
Let’s assume you were involved in a serious auto accident. It was clearly the other person’s fault. Because they only had $100,000 in insurance coverage, the case settles within three months of hiring an attorney. At the time it does, your attorney has worked 10 hours on the case. Under the standard contingency fee agreement used by other firms, your fee in this case would be 1/3 or $33,333.33 With the Kim Hart Personal Injury hourly Fee, you would be charged $750 an hour for the 10 hours of work for a total of $7,500. In this example, you would save $25,833.33 in attorney’s fees. 
Let’s take another example. In this case, a person is seriously injured as a result of a fall. The total medical bills exceed $400,000. Because of the nature of the case, it takes a year and a half to resolve. When it settles for $1,000,000 your attorney has spent 200 hours on the case.
In this example, the attorneys fees under the standard contingency fee contract used by other law firms would be 40% of your recovery since the suit had been filed. Your total attorneys fees would be $400,000.
Under the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee Contract, you would be billed $750 an hour for 200 hours for a total of $150,000. In this example, your savings in attorneys fees is $250,000.
The hourly billing rate for the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee seems high, can you explain why?
Most work on your case will be done by attorney Kim Patrick Hart. He is a board certified civil trial lawyer with more than 35 years experience in handling serious injury cases caused by auto accidents and falls. his normal hourly billing rate in cases he is guaranteed payment varies between $350-$400 an hour. But the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee has a contingency element. If we are unable to obtain a recovery for you, you pay us nothing. Plus, if an hourly rate will result in attorneys fees greater than 35% of your recover, fees are limited to 35%.The $750 hourly fee takes into consideration that in some cases nothing will be paid and other cases less than this rate will be paid because of the percentage cap on attorneys fees.
Even at $750 an hour, clients usually see substantial savings over the standard contingency fee contract used by other personal injury law firms. Using our previous examples, the hourly rate under the standard contingency contract used by other law firms in the case that settle for $100,000 is $3,333.33 an hour. In the example that settled for $1,000,000 the hourly fee is $2,000 an hour.
Could the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee ever result in me paying more than under a standard contingency fee contract?
No. With the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee contract, you are always given a choice of what your fee will be. Option 1 is to pay $750 an hour at the conclusion of the case. Option 2 allows you to pay only 30% of the recovery if the case is resolved without filing suit, or 35% of the recovery if the case is settled after filing suit. So you are always guaranteed to pay less than you would under the Florida Bar standard contingency fee contract used by other firms.
Let’s look at an example. Let’s assume an auto case settled for $25,000 after it was in suit for 9 months. At the time it settled, the attorney handling it has worked 40 hours. Under our hourly rate, your attorneys fees would be $30,000, but you get a choice of this or 35% of the total recovery which would result in an attorney fee of $8,750.
It’s this choice that allows us to say that your attorneys feeds will always be less than those provided under the Florida Bar standard contingency fee contract used by most personal injury firms.
Is my initial consultation free?
Yes. When you call The Law Office of Kim Patrick Hart, a legal assistant will talk to you about the facts of your case. After this information is taken down, it will be given to Kim Hart, who will call you personally to discuss your potential case. If he can help you, an office conference will be scheduled. This initial consultation is free.
What happens if there is no recovery made in my case?
If there is no recovery in your case, you pay nothing. You owe us nothing for attorneys fees or costs. 
How are costs handled?
Like other personal injury attorney fee agreements, the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee provides that we are reimbursed the costs of handling your case in addition to attorneys fees if we obtain money for you. If there is no recovery, you owe us nothing for costs. Costs usually involve bills sent to us by doctors. Examples would include: costs for obtaining medical records; costs for meeting with doctors; filing fees; deposition costs; and copying charges. Costs do not include attorney time.
Who will handle my case?
Currently, Kim Hart handles all personal injury cases for the firm. He is board certified by the Florida Bar in civil trial practice. He has been recognized as being among the top 5% of the best civil trial lawyers in Florida by Super Lawyers. he was also recognized as the best civil trial lawyer in Southwest Florida for the year 2010 by the Best Lawyers in America. He is assisted in his cases by attorney Kelly Ann Hart and legal assistants Sandy Kokotilo and Gerrie Benzing.
Does any other law firm offer an hourly rate similar to the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Rate Fee?
No. To the best of our knowledge, this fee approach is unique. It has not been used by any law firm in America.
What type of cases work best with the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee?
First, the fee only applies to personal injury and any wrongful death cases arising out of auto accidents or falls. It doesn’t apply to other types of cases, such as medical malpractice or product liability cases.
Second, the Kim Hart Personal Injury Hour Fee works best in cases where the fault of the defendant is clear and the injuries are serious. This usually means cases that involve broken bones requiring surgery or injuries more serious than these.
When does the standard contingency fee contract used by other law firms work best?
The standard contingency fee contract is probably your best choice in cases involving injuries caused by medical malpractice or product liability. These are often high risk situations that require law firms to invest large amounts of money to prepare your case. A standard contingency fee contract makes sense in these cases because of the large risks taken by the attorney.
The standard contingency fee contract also works well in minor injury cases. These are usually situations where people have injured their neck or back but do not require surgery. Recoveries in these types of cases can be small, and may require a lawyer to work many hours before the case is settled. For these reasons, the standard contingency fee contract provided by other firms is usually a better option than our Kim Hart Personal Injury Hourly Fee.