What Does It Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Hiring a personal injury lawyer in Florida almost always costs nothing up front. These claims run on a contingency fee, so the fee comes only from money recovered for you, with no hourly billing and no retainer to pay before your case moves forward.

Contingency arrangements remove financial barriers, making legal representation available to anyone, regardless of their economic circumstances.

How Does a Contingency Fee Work?

A contingency fee ties the payment directly to the outcome of your case. The fee is a set percentage of your settlement or verdict, collected only if the claim succeeds, which is why most personal injury claims never require a dollar out of pocket to begin. If the case recovers nothing, there is no fee at all.

What Determines the Fee Percentage?

The standard contingency fee typically ranges from 33.33% to 40%. The percentage may increase if the case proceeds through trial or an appeal. The exact percentage varies from case to case, and Florida law limits how much an attorney may charge. Several factors can affect the fee before you sign a representation agreement:

• Whether the case settles or becomes a lawsuit
• How far into litigation the claim goes
• The difficulty of proving fault and damages
• Whether an appeal turns out to be necessary

Most car accident and personal injury cases use the same contingency fee structure, although the percentage may vary depending on the case. Your written fee agreement sets out the exact percentage before any legal work begins.

What Case Costs Are Separate From Attorney Fees?

Beyond the percentage fee, every claim carries its own hard expenses, and these differ from what pays for legal work. These costs get advanced as the case moves forward and repaid from the recovery at the end. Typical case costs include:

• Court filing and service fees
• Charges for medical records and reports
• Payments to expert witnesses
• Deposition and court reporter costs
• Investigation and crash reconstruction

When your claim succeeds, some litigation costs may be recoverable from the opposing party. Under Florida Statute § 57.041, a prevailing party may recover certain taxable costs from the losing party. This isn’t related to income tax; it refers to costs the court allows one side to bill back to the other, which can substantially reduce your overall out-of-pocket expenses.

How Settlement Offers Can Affect What You Owe

The other side’s settlement offers carry hidden weight on costs. Under Florida Statute § 768.79, if a defendant rejects a formal demand and you win at least 25% more at trial, the court can order that defendant to pay your attorney’s fees and costs from that point forward. One rejected offer can affect the math of an entire claim.

Get a Free Look at Your Claim Before You Owe a Thing

Cost should never be the reason you skip help after an injury, and with a contingency fee, it does not have to be. For more than 50 years, Smith, Feddeler & Smith, P.A. has fought to win for hurt Floridians and recovered millions without charging a dollar upfront. 

Call (863) 355-4204, or contact our firm online for a free case evaluation. Our team only gets paid when you do.

Office Location

Lakeland832 Florida Avenue South
Lakeland, FL 33801

(863) 312-1102

Brandon202 E Brandon Blvd. Suite 107
Brandon, FL 33511

(813) 527-3716

Kissimmee1101 Miranda Lane
Ste1331, Kissimmee, FL 34741

(407) 904-5445

Tampa100 S Ashley Drive
Suite 600, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 859-5671

Orlando4700 Millenia Blvd
Orlando,FL 32839

(407) 553-3028

Clearwater13575 58th St North #200
Clearwater, FL 33760

(727) 914-5089

$1,200,000.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked as a tree guy and a giant limb fell on him. Claimant developed CRPS and ended up wheelchair bound. Our firm was successful in obtaining many benefits to the Claimant prior to settlement, including multiple home modifications, wheelchair ramps, authorization of medical specialist, and implantation of a spinal cord stimulator.

$350,000.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked as a bus driving and during an evacuation she jumped off the bus causing her to fall resulting in a serious back injury.

$269,671.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked performing clerical type job in an office. She was asked to carry a box down stairs when she slipped and fell down the flight of stairs injuring her head, neck and lefts arm / wrist / hand.

$220,100.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked for a temp service. He was helping to unload a trailer when his foot went through a board on the floor of the trailer causing his to fall, shattering his pelvis, and causing serious injury to his back, hip and head.

$1,223,423.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked as a selector / forklift driver. This case involved a specific injury to her right leg / knee. She continued to work which resulted in repetitive and cumulative trauma to the right knee and CRPS.

$630,000.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked for a transport company. One day he was forced to get under a trailer and while he was lifting and twisting, the Claimant injured his back and knee, which was left untreated until he retained representation and filed Petitions for Benefits. Unfortunately, the severity or the injury coupled with the delay in treatment caused the Claimant to developed CRPS.