Home › Blog › How Much Does a Car Accident Lawyer Cost? Contingency Fees Explained
The number-one reason people delay calling a lawyer is the fear of a bill they can’t afford while they’re already out of work. For injury claims, that fear is based on a misunderstanding of how these lawyers get paid.
Personal injury attorneys almost always work on contingency: their fee is a percentage of what they recover for you, and if they recover nothing, you owe no attorney fee. There is no hourly bill and no retainer to find while you're recovering.
Contingency fees commonly fall around one-third (33%) for a claim that settles, and can step up — often toward 40% — if a lawsuit is filed or the case goes to trial, because that's far more work. The exact percentage and the tiers must be spelled out in a written fee agreement before you sign.
Beyond the fee, a case has costs: medical-record retrieval, expert opinions, filing fees, depositions. Many firms advance these and deduct them from the recovery at the end. Ask whether costs come out before or after the fee is calculated, and what happens to them if the case loses.