A one third contingency fee is common in personal injury work, though the percentage varies and some firms scale it by how far the case got before it settled (source: peoples-law.org). That percentage is not the whole answer, and treating it as one is how people are surprised by their cheque. Three things come out of a settlement, not one: the attorney fee, the case costs advanced for filing, records, experts and depositions, and any medical liens or subrogation interests repaid from the money. The order the first two are taken in changes what reaches you, at the same percentage and the same costs. California requires the contract to say which order applies, in Business and Professions Code 6147(a)(2) (source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov), and the State Bar of California tells clients to check that it does (source: calbar.ca.gov). Two states cap the percentage itself by statute in specific claim types rather than leaving it to negotiation. This page applies your own figures and shows both orderings side by side. To value the claim in the first place, use the personal injury calculator.
Under the other ordering you would receive $56,670, a difference of $5,000 in your favour. Same percentage, same costs. California requires the contract to spell this out, and the State Bar of California tells consumers to check that it does. It is the term most people never read.
Estimate only, not legal advice. The legal rules this calculator applies, each state's statute of limitations, comparative-negligence rule, and damage caps, are taken from official state statutes and US government sources, and every figure is cited inline so you can check it against the original. The multiplier method itself is the industry-standard approach bodily-injury adjusters use internally to set claim reserves, so treat the result as a negotiating benchmark rather than a promise: a real settlement still moves with insurer behavior, the strength of your evidence, and the jurisdiction you file in. Your figures stay on your device. Nothing you type is sent to a server, logged, or shared, and it clears when you close the tab. Take these numbers to a personal-injury attorney licensed in your state before you accept or reject any offer, especially for catastrophic injury or amounts above $50,000.
There is no single figure, and no law sets one in an ordinary injury claim. A one third fee is common, the percentage varies between firms, and some offer a sliding scale based on how far along the case is when it settles (source: peoples-law.org). Case costs and any medical liens are deducted separately on top of the fee.
The most overlooked term in a fee agreement. The Maryland State Law Library works it through on a 100,000 dollar award with a one third fee and 20,000 dollars of expenses: fee first leaves you 46,667 dollars, expenses first leaves you 53,334 dollars (source: peoples-law.org). The gap is the fee rate multiplied by the costs, so it grows with the size of the case.
The percentage varies between firms and some offer a sliding scale based on how far the case progressed before settling (source: peoples-law.org). In California the fee is negotiable by law in a non-malpractice claim, and the contract has to say so (source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov).
A claim resolved on paperwork may carry a few hundred dollars of costs. One that needed accident reconstruction, treating-physician depositions and a life care planner can carry tens of thousands. Those are repaid from your side of the split under either ordering, and you can be liable for court costs regardless of outcome (sources: calbar.ca.gov and guides.sll.texas.gov).
Health insurers, government programmes and treating providers can all claim against the recovery. Reducing a lien is often worth more than arguing the fee percentage, and it is negotiable in a way the signed rate usually is not. See liens against your settlement for how those claims arise.
California limits the fee in a claim against a health care provider to 25 percent where the case settles before a civil complaint or arbitration demand is filed and 33 percent after, with more available only on a motion showing good cause (source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). New York applies a descending scale to malpractice: 30 percent of the first 250,000 dollars, then 25, 20 and 15 percent on successive bands, and 10 percent above 1,250,000 dollars (source: nysenate.gov). Texas caps a workers compensation fee at 25 percent of benefits, with exceptions, under Labor Code 408.221 (source: guides.sll.texas.gov).
A 100,000 dollar award, a one third contingency fee, and 20,000 dollars of expenses, where the agreement calculates the fee on the full award.
The fee is 33,333 dollars, then the 20,000 dollars of expenses comes out of the remainder. Your share is 46,667 dollars (source: peoples-law.org).
Same 100,000 dollars, same one third rate, same 20,000 dollars of expenses. The only change is that expenses are deducted before the fee is calculated.
The fee is charged on 80,000 dollars rather than 100,000 dollars, so it falls to 26,666 dollars and your share rises to 53,334 dollars. The ordering is worth 6,667 dollars on one clause (source: peoples-law.org).
1,500,000 dollars recovered in a medical malpractice claim in New York, where Judiciary Law 474-a sets the fee rather than the agreement.
The bands are marginal, so the fee is 75,000 plus 62,500 plus 100,000 plus 37,500 plus 25,000 dollars, which is 300,000 dollars. That is an effective rate of 20 percent, below the one third an ordinary injury claim would carry (source: nysenate.gov).
A one third fee is common, though the percentage varies between firms and some use a sliding scale based on how far along the case is when it settles (source: peoples-law.org). Case costs and any medical liens are deducted on top of the fee, so the percentage alone does not tell you what you receive.
Whichever your agreement says, which is why it matters that the agreement says. California requires a contingency fee contract to include a statement of how disbursements and costs will affect the fee and the client's recovery (source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov), and the State Bar of California advises confirming in writing whether the lawyer's share is figured before or after costs (source: calbar.ca.gov). Expenses first is the better of the two for you.
The gap is the fee rate multiplied by the costs. On the Maryland State Law Library's example, a 100,000 dollar award with a one third fee and 20,000 dollars of expenses, it is the difference between receiving 46,667 dollars and 53,334 dollars (source: peoples-law.org). On a case with larger costs the gap is larger still.
Often yes, and that is separate from the fee. The State Bar of California warns that whether you win or lose you will have to pay some or all of the court costs and other expenses, which can be quite high (source: calbar.ca.gov). The Texas State Law Library puts it the same way: attorneys' fees normally do not cover court costs, and on a contingency you may still have to pay them regardless of the result (source: guides.sll.texas.gov). Ask how your agreement handles it before signing.
In an ordinary injury claim in California it is, and the contract must say so: unless the claim falls under the malpractice cap, the contingency fee contract has to include a statement that the fee is not set by law but is negotiable between attorney and client (source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Where a statutory cap does apply, the contract must state that the statutory rates are maximums and that a lower rate can be negotiated (source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov).
In California and New York, no, those claims are capped by statute rather than by agreement. California limits the fee to 25 percent before a civil complaint or arbitration demand is filed and 33 percent after, and anything higher requires a motion decided on evidence of good cause (source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). New York runs a descending scale that reaches 10 percent on amounts above 1,250,000 dollars (source: nysenate.gov).
Not of the lien itself. A lien is a third party's claim on the money rather than a cost of running the case, so it is repaid from the recovery without a fee charged on that portion. It still reduces your net, which is why negotiating a lien down is often worth more than arguing about the percentage.
The PersonalInjuryCalculator.us editorial team documents how US insurance carriers value personal-injury claims and turns that into plain-English calculators and explainers. Every dollar range, multiplier, filing deadline, and damages cap published here is traced back to a named source. The team is not a law firm and includes no attorneys, so nothing on this site is legal advice. Speak with a licensed attorney in your state for serious or contested cases.
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