How Contingency Fees Work
Personal injury attorneys commonly work on contingency — meaning the fee is a percentage of the recovery rather than an hourly rate. Percentages and structures vary by jurisdiction and by agreement.
Common Structures
- ✓Pre-suit fee (commonly 33⅓%)
- ✓Post-suit fee (commonly 40%)
- ✓Tiered fees that escalate at trial
- ✓Costs and case expenses billed separately
Fees vs Costs
Fees are the attorney's percentage. Costs are case expenses — filing fees, depositions, expert reports, records — and are typically additional to the contingency fee.
How Insurance Carriers Evaluate the File
Insurance carriers typically review the entire claim file — incident facts, liability, medical records, imaging, treatment timeline, provider notes, wage loss documentation, communication history, and prior medical history. Diagnosis alone rarely determines value; the consistency, completeness, and credibility of the file across time often matters more.
SmartClaim tools apply transparent structural reasoning to the customer’s facts and documentation and explain the factors shaping claim evaluation. Each result reflects the facts, records, coverage, and circumstances of the individual claim.
SmartClaim™ is not anti-attorney. Many claims are commonly handled well with counsel, and some claims — particularly serious-injury, disputed-liability, or lien-heavy claims — commonly benefit from representation. This material is educational only; whether to retain, keep, or change counsel is an individual decision, and rules vary by jurisdiction.
Related claim education
Sources & Methodology
SmartClaim reviews public insurance research, government and court resources, and established claim-handling concepts to build bounded educational summaries. Sources inform general education, not a prediction or a medical or legal conclusion about an individual claim.
Review SmartClaim’s sources and methodologySee how representation choices and net recovery fit together across a claim.
Explore Representation BasicsStructured education. Claim intelligence. Proven claimant support. SmartClaim™ is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or representation.