How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost in California?
After an injury, the question of cost often comes first. You may be out of work with medical bills arriving, and paying a lawyer by the hour is out of the question. Fortunately, personal injury lawyers in California usually work on a contingency fee, which means the lawyer is paid out of the recovery rather than by you up front.
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If you are wondering how much a lawyer takes from a car accident settlement, it depends on the written agreement you sign, and California law controls what that agreement must say. This article explains how contingency fees work, what the contract must include, the difference between fees and costs, and how to compare one offer against another.
What a contingency fee is
A contingency fee depends on the outcome. Instead of paying an hourly rate or a retainer, you agree that the attorney will be paid a percentage of whatever is recovered through a settlement or a judgment. If there is no recovery, there is no attorney’s fee. Whether you would still owe case costs is a separate term, explained below.
This arrangement shifts the financial risk of the case onto the lawyer, who invests time, and often money, without knowing whether the case will pay. It also means an injured person with no savings can hire a lawyer without paying a fee up front. In most injury cases the percentage is not set by law, and it is not the only term that affects what you keep.
What California requires in a contingency fee agreement
California regulates contingency fee contracts in Business and Professions Code § 6147. The contract must be in writing, and at the time it is signed, the attorney must give you a duplicate copy signed by both you and the attorney. The contract must include, at a minimum, the following terms.
The fee rate. The agreement must state the contingency fee rate you and the attorney agreed on.
How costs affect the fee and your recovery. The agreement must explain how disbursements and costs incurred in pursuing or settling the claim will affect the attorney’s fee and the amount you receive.
Related matters outside the agreement. The agreement must state the extent, if any, to which you could be required to pay the attorney for related matters that fall outside the contingency fee contract.
A statement that the fee is negotiable. Unless the case is covered by a separate statute that sets maximum fee rates, the contract must say that “the fee is not set by law but is negotiable between attorney and client.” Where maximum rates do apply, the contract must instead say that those rates are maximum limits and that you and the attorney may agree to a lower rate.
That statement is worth reading twice. The rate in front of you is a proposal, not a rule, and you are allowed to discuss it before you sign.
What happens if the agreement does not follow the rules
If a contingency fee contract fails to comply with any part of Section 6147, the statute makes the agreement voidable at your option. If you choose to void it, the attorney is then limited to collecting a reasonable fee instead of the rate written into the contract.
A second layer of protection comes from the California Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1.5 says a lawyer may not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unconscionable or illegal fee. Whether a fee is unconscionable is judged on all the facts and circumstances that existed when the agreement was made, except where the parties expected later events to affect the fee. The factors include whether the lawyer engaged in fraud or overreaching, whether the lawyer failed to disclose material facts, and whether the client gave informed consent to the fee. The practical lesson is simple. A lawyer should explain the agreement clearly, and you should not sign one you do not understand.
Attorney’s fees versus case costs
The fee pays for the lawyer’s work. Case costs are a separate category: the out of pocket expenses of building and pursuing the claim. Common examples include court filing fees, charges for medical records and bills, deposition transcripts and court reporter fees, fees for serving legal papers, mediation fees, and payments to doctors, engineers, and other professionals retained to review the evidence and testify about it.
Agreements handle costs in different ways. Some firms advance costs and are repaid from the recovery, and agreements differ on whether you owe costs if the case recovers nothing. One detail changes the math more than people expect: whether costs are subtracted before the attorney’s percentage is calculated or after. When costs are subtracted first, the fee is calculated on a smaller number. When the fee is calculated on the full recovery, the costs come entirely out of your share.
Section 6147 requires the contract to explain how costs affect both the fee and your recovery, so the answer should be in writing. If it is not clear, ask.
Medical liens and what you actually take home
The settlement amount is not the check you receive. After the fee and costs, there may be medical liens to resolve. A health insurer, a government health program, or a doctor who treated you on a lien may claim repayment from your recovery for the care it paid for or provided.
Those claims are often negotiable, and how they are handled can have a real effect on your net. Ask whether the attorney will work to reduce liens, whether that work is covered by the contingency fee, and whether you will get a written settlement statement showing the gross recovery, the fee, each cost, each lien, and your share. To understand the value side of that equation, see our article on what your car accident case is worth in California.
Why the percentage alone is the wrong comparison
Two agreements with the same percentage can leave you with very different amounts, and a lower percentage does not automatically put more money in your hands. What you keep depends on the value the lawyer is able to prove, how costs are ordered and charged, whether the rate changes if a lawsuit is filed or the case goes to trial, and how liens are resolved at the end.
Rule 1.5 makes a similar point in a different setting. In deciding whether a fee is unconscionable, the rule treats the amount of the fee in proportion to the value of the services as only one factor on its list, alongside the time and labor required, the difficulty of the questions involved, the results obtained, the experience and ability of the lawyer, and whether the fee is fixed or contingent.
A more useful comparison asks what the whole agreement costs and what the lawyer will actually do. Who will handle your case day to day? Is the firm prepared to file a lawsuit if the insurer will not pay fair value? Those answers matter at least as much as the rate. And because the fee is negotiable, it is fair to raise the rate in the same conversation.
Questions to ask before you sign
Bring these questions to any consultation, and make sure the answers match the written agreement.
- What is the fee rate, and does it change if a lawsuit is filed or the case goes to trial?
- Are case costs subtracted before or after the fee is calculated?
- Who pays costs as they come up, and will I owe them if there is no recovery?
- Could I owe you anything for related matters outside this agreement, such as a property damage claim or an appeal?
- Will you work to reduce medical liens before my share is paid?
- Will I receive a copy of the agreement signed by both of us?
- Who will be my main contact, and how often will I hear from you?
For a broader checklist, see our guide to questions to ask before hiring a personal injury attorney in California.
Talking to NMF Law Group, APC about cost
At NMF Law Group, APC, the consultation is free. Joshua B. Adelpour, who founded the firm, spent nearly a decade defending insurance companies, public entities, and property owners, so we know how the other side evaluates a claim. Bring your questions about our agreement to the consultation, and we will answer them before you sign anything.
Do not let the cost question hold you up for long. An injury lawsuit in California generally must be filed within two years under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, and a claim for injury against a public entity must be presented within six months after it accrues under Government Code § 911.2. To see what comes after you hire a lawyer, read how long a personal injury case takes in California. When you are ready, contact us or call (213) 800-0706.
This article is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a personal injury lawyer cost in California?
Personal injury lawyers in California commonly work on a contingency fee. The attorney is paid a percentage of the settlement or judgment instead of an hourly rate, and there is no attorney's fee if nothing is recovered. Whether you still owe case costs in that situation depends on the written agreement. Under Business and Professions Code section 6147, the rate must be stated in a written agreement signed by both you and the attorney.
How much do lawyers take from a car accident settlement?
It depends on the fee rate in your written agreement, how case costs are charged, and whether medical liens must be repaid from the settlement. The attorney's fee is only one of the deductions. Ask for a written settlement statement that shows the gross recovery, the fee, each cost, each lien, and your share.
Is a contingency fee negotiable in California?
Yes. Unless a separate statute sets maximum fee rates for the type of case, Business and Professions Code section 6147 requires the contract to state that the fee is not set by law but is negotiable between attorney and client. Where maximum rates do apply, the contract must say those rates are maximum limits and that a lower rate may be negotiated.
What is the difference between attorney's fees and case costs?
The fee pays for the lawyer's work. Costs are the expenses of pursuing the claim, such as court filing fees, medical records charges, deposition transcripts, and payments to doctors and other professionals retained to review the case and testify. Your contract must explain how costs affect the fee and your recovery, so ask whether costs are subtracted before or after the fee is calculated.
What happens if my fee agreement does not follow California law?
Under Business and Professions Code section 6147, a contingency fee agreement that does not comply with the statute is voidable at your option. If you void it, the attorney is limited to a reasonable fee instead of the rate in the contract. Separately, Rule 1.5 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct bars a lawyer from charging or collecting an unconscionable or illegal fee.
