1. What Determines the Percentage You Pay?
For an ordinary personal injury claim, there is no single legally prescribed percentage. The proposed agreement sets out the rate and any conditions that change it, subject to applicable legal restrictions. To understand the quote, you need to know both the percentage and the amount used to calculate it.
Negotiable Rates and Written Terms
Business and Professions Code § 6147 requires a written contingency agreement signed by the lawyer and client, with a signed copy provided to the client. It must explain the rate, how expenses affect the fee and recovery, and potential compensation for related matters outside the agreement.
The agreement must also state that the fee is negotiable rather than set by law, unless the claim falls under § 6146. For those claims, lower rates remain negotiable within the applicable statutory limits.
When discussing representation with a Personal Injury Attorney, ask where the quoted terms appear in the contract. Resolve differences between the written proposal and your consultation before signing.
Changes When Litigation Begins
An agreement may use one percentage throughout the case or different rates at specified stages. The trigger matters: filing a complaint, starting trial preparation, and beginning trial are different events.
A rate increase should not come as a surprise when you receive a settlement breakdown. Confirm the trigger in advance and check whether an appeal falls within the agreed scope.
2. Case Expenses Are Separate from Legal Fees
Legal fees pay for the lawyer’s services. Case expenses cover items such as filing fees, medical records, deposition transcripts, investigators, and expert witnesses. These charges can affect your recovery even when the percentage stays the same, so discuss how the firm estimates, approves, and accounts for them.
Advancing Costs Does Not Mean Absorbing Them
A firm that advances expenses pays them initially. The contract may still require repayment from your recovery or under other specified circumstances.
Ask when repayment becomes due and whether the proposal includes interest or financing charges. For substantial expenses, such as expert work, discuss whether the lawyer will obtain your approval before committing the money.
Expenses If Nothing Is Recovered
“No fee unless we recover” does not necessarily mean that you owe nothing if the claim fails. The lawyer’s fee and responsibility for case expenses are separate questions.
Check whether the firm absorbs advanced expenses when there is no recovery or requires you to reimburse them. An advertising slogan cannot answer that question as clearly as the written agreement.
3. How Deductions Change Your Take-Home Amount
The amount recovered and the amount you receive are different figures. Your payment depends on the fee calculation, reimbursable expenses, and any medical-payment or reimbursement obligations. Reviewing these categories separately makes it easier to see why a settlement offer may leave less available than you expected.
4. Before-Cost and after-Cost Calculations
Where no special statutory formula applies, the agreement should explain whether the percentage uses the total recovery or the balance after deducting case expenses.
| Calculation method | Fee formula | Effect on the fee |
|---|---|---|
| Before deducting expenses | Rate × total recovery | Expenses do not reduce the calculation base |
| After deducting expenses | Rate × (total recovery − applicable expenses) | Expenses reduce the calculation base |
Before deducting expenses
- Fee formulaRate × total recovery
- Effect on the feeExpenses do not reduce the calculation base
After deducting expenses
- Fee formulaRate × (total recovery − applicable expenses)
- Effect on the feeExpenses reduce the calculation base
With the same recovery, expenses, and percentage, these methods produce different fees. Ask the lawyer to explain the formula using the contract’s terms. An estimate can clarify the calculation without predicting what the claim will recover.
Medical Bills and Reimbursement Requests
Treatment bills, medical liens, and insurer reimbursement requests should appear separately from litigation expenses. Their legal basis and amount may differ, and a request is not necessarily the final amount payable.
During Claims Adjustment and Settlement, ask which obligations have been identified and which remain unresolved. If an estimated distribution assumes a reduction that has not been agreed, that assumption should be clear.
5. Claims with Special Fee Rules
The ordinary contract comparison does not cover every claim. Professional-negligence claims against health care providers have statutory fee restrictions, and certain recoveries involving minors require court review. These rules can affect the allowable percentage or calculation regardless of the initial quote.
Medical Malpractice Fee Limits
Section 6146 generally limits fees in covered claims to:
- 25% when the parties execute the settlement agreement and release before filing a civil complaint or arbitration demand.
- 33% when recovery follows filing a complaint or arbitration demand.
If the matter is tried or arbitrated, the lawyer may request a higher percentage through a motion supported by good cause. Approval is discretionary.
The statutory calculation uses recovery after qualifying litigation expenses. Medical-care costs and the lawyer’s office overhead do not reduce that calculation base. If the claim concerns Medical Malpractice Litigation, confirm whether § 6146 applies before comparing the proposed rate with an ordinary injury agreement.
Recoveries Involving Minors
For proceedings covered by Rule of Court 7.955, the court generally applies a reasonable-fee standard unless it approved the agreement in advance. A parent’s signature alone does not establish the amount the court will approve from the child’s recovery.
Do not assume that a familiar percentage is automatically acceptable. The fee review depends on the applicable procedure and circumstances of the representation.
6. Questions to Resolve before Signing
Written proposals are easier to compare when you ask the same questions about each one. A lower percentage may use a different calculation base or cover fewer services. Focus on the complete payment arrangement and clarify terms that could change your obligations later.
A Focused Contract Checklist
Before signing, confirm:
- What percentage applies, and what event changes it?
- Does the fee use total recovery or an expense-adjusted amount?
- Who advances expenses, and when must you repay them?
- Who bears those expenses if nothing is recovered?
- Are appeals and related proceedings included?
- What payment provisions apply if representation ends?
Request explanations in plain language and put agreed changes in writing. Keep the signed contract and later amendments together so you can refer to the terms actually accepted.
Check the Distribution before Payment
Before funds are distributed, request an itemized breakdown of the fee, case expenses, medical payments, unresolved claims, and proposed payment to you. Compare the calculation with your agreement and raise discrepancies before approving it.
If an obligation remains unresolved, ask whether the estimate includes money held pending resolution. A clear breakdown should distinguish what you can receive now from amounts that are still uncertain.
16 Oct, 2026
