How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?

Author: Shelby Benavidez 

TL;DR: Personal Injury Lawyer Costs 

• Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee, meaning you don’t pay an attorney fee upfront. 

• Personal injury lawyer fees typically range from 30% to 40% of the compensation recovered, depending on the firm and fee agreement. 

• Attorney fees and case expenses are different. Case expenses may include medical records, filing fees, expert witnesses, depositions, and investigation costs. 

• The total cost of a personal injury case can vary depending on its complexity and whether it settles or goes to trial. 

• Before hiring a personal injury lawyer, ask what percentage they charge, what that fee includes, and how case expenses are handled so you know exactly what to expect. 

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If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may think letting the insurance company handle your claim is the easiest option. With medical bills and other unexpected expenses already piling up, an additional personal injury lawyer cost may not seem worth it. 

Fortunately, most personal injury lawyers don’t require you to pay attorney fees upfront. Instead, they work on a contingency fee, which means they don’t get paid unless they win your case, and their fees will be deducted from your settlement. 

But how much does a personal injury lawyer actually take from your settlement? Are there other expenses you should know about? And what happens if you don’t win your case? 

Here are answers to some of the most common questions about personal injury lawyer costs and fees. 

How Do Personal Injury Lawyer Fees Work? 

Unlike some attorneys who charge by the hour or require a retainer before they begin working, personal injury lawyers typically don’t require an upfront attorney fee. 

However, that doesn’t mean their services are free. Your attorney and legal team may spend months or even years investigating your accident, gathering evidence, reviewing medical records, communicating with insurance companies, consulting with experts, negotiating your claim, and preparing your case for trial if necessary. 

Attorney fees are how the law firm is paid for the time, experience, resources, and legal work it puts into your case. 

The exact personal injury lawyer cost depends on the firm you hire and the agreement you sign. But instead of sending you a bill for every phone call, email, or hour spent working on your case, personal injury attorneys only get paid once your case is settled. If they don’t win your case, they don’t get paid. 

What Is a Contingency Fee? 

Personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which gives injured people access to professional legal help without requiring them to pay attorney fees upfront. 

When you hire a personal injury lawyer, you’ll agree to a percentage that the law firm will receive if it successfully resolves your case. You won’t have to pay that fee out of pocket—ever. 

Once your case is resolved through a settlement or favorable verdict, the agreed-upon attorney fee is deducted directly from your recovery. After medical bills and other case-related expenses are addressed, the remaining funds are paid to you. 

In other words, you don’t have to come up with the money to pay your attorney yourself. Their fee comes directly from the compensation they recover on your behalf. 

What Percentage Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Take? 

Most personal injury attorneys charge a contingency fee somewhere between 30% and 40% of the compensation they recover for you. The exact percentage depends on the law firm, your fee agreement, and whether a lawsuit needs to be filed. 

If your attorney is able to negotiate a fair settlement without filing a lawsuit, your case may require less time and fewer resources, so the fee may be on the lower end of the range. But if the insurance company refuses to offer you what your case is worth, your attorney may need to file a lawsuit, take depositions, hire experts, gather additional evidence, and ultimately prepare your case for a jury. That’s a much bigger undertaking. 

However, when hiring a personal injury attorney, it’s important to understand what bang you’re getting for your buck—cheaper may not always mean better. 

Let’s say one attorney charges a 30% contingency fee while another charges 35%. At first glance, the attorney charging 30% probably sounds like the better deal. After all, you get to keep a larger percentage of your settlement. But that isn’t always the case. 

The firm charging 35% may have more experience handling cases like yours or more resources to investigate your accident, hire qualified experts, and build a strong case against the insurance company. 

For example, a 30% contingency fee on a $100,000 recovery would leave $70,000 before other expenses. A 35% contingency fee on a $150,000 recovery would leave $97,500 before other expenses. In that scenario, the higher contingency fee still leaves the client with more money. 

Of course, a higher fee doesn’t automatically mean a better result, just as a lower fee doesn’t automatically mean you’re getting a better deal. When choosing a personal injury lawyer, look beyond the percentage and ask what you’re getting in return. Consider the firm’s experience, resources, track record, and ability to take your case as far as it needs to go. 

Are There Other Costs in a Personal Injury Case? 

Attorney fees aren’t necessarily the only costs involved in pursuing a personal injury claim. 

Building a strong case can require obtaining records, investigating the accident, filing legal documents, consulting experts, and collecting evidence. Some of these expenses would exist even if you tried to handle the claim yourself. 

Common personal injury case expenses may include: 

• Records fees: Costs associated with obtaining police reports, investigative documents, medical records, and other evidence. 

• Court and filing fees: Expenses for filing a lawsuit, serving documents, court reporters, depositions, and other litigation-related services. 

• Expert witness fees: Costs for qualified experts who may help explain injuries, medical treatment, accident reconstruction, future care needs, lost earning capacity, or other complicated issues. 

• Investigation costs: Expenses associated with gathering evidence, locating witnesses, inspecting the scene, or investigating how an accident occurred. 

The total cost can vary significantly depending on the case. A relatively straightforward claim that settles early may require fewer resources than a complicated case involving multiple parties, disputed liability, serious injuries, or a trial. 

Are Personal Injury Lawyer Fees and Case Costs the Same Thing? 

Attorney fees and case expenses are two different things, but they are often grouped together in casual conversation. The attorney fee is what you pay the law firm for representing you. Case expenses are the costs associated with investigating, preparing, and pursuing your claim. These could include medical record fees, filing fees, depositions, expert witnesses, and other expenses. 

Before hiring a personal injury lawyer, ask how both are handled. For example, does the firm advance case expenses while your claim is pending? Are those expenses deducted from your recovery? What happens to those expenses if the firm does not recover compensation for you? 

These details should be explained in your fee agreement so you know what to expect. If anything is unclear, don’t hesitate to ask your attorney for clarification. 

Is Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer Worth the Cost? 

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Why pay a personal injury lawyer to handle something you could technically handle on your own for free? 

We see it a lot, and it’s a fair question. You aren’t legally required to hire an attorney to handle a personal injury claim, and not every accident needs one. If you can work directly with the insurance company and recover enough compensation to cover the full impact of your injuries, you may not need a lawyer. 

The problem is knowing whether the amount you’re being offered is actually enough. 

Consider this case. After a car accident, an injured woman was offered $20,000 by the insurance company. She could have accepted the offer, handled the claim without an attorney, and kept the entire settlement without paying an attorney fee. But what if her injuries ended up costing more than $20,000? 

Once a claim is settled, you generally can’t go back and ask the insurance company for more money because your medical treatment became more expensive than expected. If her medical bills and other losses exceeded that $20,000 settlement, she could have been left dealing with the difference herself. 

Instead, she hired Daniel Stark Injury Lawyers. Our team continued investigating the extent of her injuries and obtained an expert medical opinion that helped demonstrate the severity of the harm she had suffered. Her case ultimately resolved for $850,000. 

That doesn’t mean hiring an attorney will turn every $20,000 offer into an $850,000 settlement. Every case is different, and past results cannot guarantee the outcome of another case. It does show, however, that handling a claim yourself isn’t necessarily “free” if you accept less compensation than you need. 

So, is a personal injury lawyer worth the cost? That depends on your case. But before deciding that handling it yourself will save you money, make sure you understand what you could be giving up in return. 

How Much Does Daniel Stark Charge for a Personal Injury Case? 

Like most personal injury firms, Daniel Stark Injury Lawyers handles personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay an upfront attorney fee to hire us. 

We charge the industry standard rate, and have kept our fees consistent for more than 25 years. Before you hire us, we’ll explain our fee agreement, how case expenses are handled, and what you can expect if we recover compensation for you. 

We want you to understand where your money goes and what you’re receiving in return. 

If you’ve been injured and are worried about the cost of hiring a personal injury lawyer, don’t let that question keep you from learning about your options. 

Contact Daniel Stark Injury Lawyers to discuss your case and learn how our personal injury lawyer fees work. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Lawyer Costs 

Do personal injury lawyers charge upfront fees? 

Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you generally don’t pay an attorney fee upfront. Instead, the attorney receives an agreed-upon percentage of the compensation recovered for you once your case is settled. 

How much do lawyers take from a personal injury settlement? 

Personal injury contingency fees often range from approximately 30% to 40% of the recovery, but the percentage varies by law firm, fee agreement, and whether a lawsuit is filed. 

Do personal injury lawyers charge by the hour? 

Most personal injury attorneys do not charge injured clients an hourly rate. Instead, they typically use a contingency fee arrangement. You should confirm the firm’s payment structure before hiring an attorney. 

What happens if my personal injury lawyer doesn’t win my case? 

This depends on the law firm’s contingency fee agreement. Generally, if a personal injury lawyer doesn’t recover compensation for you, you won’t owe an attorney fee. However, firms may handle case expenses differently, so be sure to ask whether you could be responsible for any costs if your case is unsuccessful. 

Is it worth paying for a personal injury lawyer? 

That depends on your case and the attorney you hire. A qualified personal injury lawyer can investigate your accident, gather evidence, calculate your damages, communicate with insurance companies, negotiate your claim, and take the case to court when necessary. When comparing attorneys, consider the firm’s experience and resources in addition to the percentage it charges.