When you’re dealing with an injury, whether it’s from a car accident, a slip and fall, or a workplace incident, your life can get complicated, fast. From lost wages due to missing work, medical bills, and insurance companies that may be hesitant to pay the full amount you’re owed, an injury can be very expensive.
That’s why it makes perfect sense that the first question many people ask when considering hiring a personal injury attorney is: “How much is this going to cost?”
In the world of personal injury law, there’s typically not an up-front cost. Most personal injury attorneys, those at Farah & Farah included, work on contingency fees rather than hourly charges, which means that you don’t have to pay anything at all unless your case is successful. That does lead to an additional question, though: “How much do lawyers take from a settlement in Florida?”
So, What Percentage Do Lawyers Take From a Settlement in Florida?
The short answer is that it depends. The longer answer is that the Florida Bar sets very specific guidelines about what percentage an attorney can charge for the contingency fee and when that percentage should be applied. Many try to simplify the fee structure and explain it as 33⅓% – 40%, but it’s actually more involved than that. How much an attorney can charge in fees depends on two factors:
- When the case settled
- How much it settled for
You’ll need to know both of these things before an exact percentage can be calculated.
#1: If Your Case Settles Before Going to Court
This is the pre-lawsuit stage in which your attorney and the insurance company are still negotiating, and no one has filed anything in court yet. At this point, the defendant won’t have filed an answer yet, and no one has formally started any kind of litigation. If your case settles during this time, the fees are as follows:
- 33⅓% of the money recovered up to $1 million
- 30% of any amount between $1 million and $2 million
- 20% of any amount over $2 million
Most cases actually settle during this stage, so this is the set of fees that you’ll most likely see.
#2: If Your Attorney Files a Lawsuit but the Defendant Admits Fault Right Away
Once your attorney has filed a lawsuit, the defendant has the opportunity to respond with what is called an answer. If they admit fault right away in their response to the lawsuit filing, then that triggers the next set of fee percentages:
- 33⅓% of the first $1 million
- 20% of the amount between $1 million and $2 million
- 15% of the amount over $2 million
The percentages in this case are lower than if the case actually went to court because the only thing to settle is how much is owed, rather than who is liable.
#3: If the Defendant Contests the Case and It Goes to Court
This is the actual litigation stage of a case’s timeline and is triggered if the defendant doesn’t admit fault and the case, which is now considered to be contested, goes to court. This involves more work on the attorney’s part. They must build a full case, gather evidence, depose witnesses, prepare experts, and go to trial. For this reason, the Florida Bar raised the percentages to the following:
- 40% of the first $1 million
- 30% of the amount between $1 million and $2 million
- 20% of the amount over $2 million
At Farah & Farah, we always prepare every case from the beginning as if it’s going to court. That way, we’re ready no matter what happens with your case. But just because we’ve done more legwork during the earlier stages, it doesn’t change the fee structure. Those are set by the Florida Bar, and only a court order can change them, so you don’t have to worry about owing more because your attorney has been preparing your case prior to litigation being filed.
#4: If Your Case Is Appealed or There Are Post-Judgement Steps
Sometimes a case doesn’t end when a settlement is reached. If there’s anything that your attorney needs to do for your case after that judgment is issued, such as filing an appeal, or if there are extra steps needed to actually collect the settlement money, then the Florida Bar allows for an additional 5% of the total recovery to be added into your attorney’s fees. However, this only applies if there’s more case-related legal legwork that needs to happen after the case resolution.
Attorney Fees vs. Case Costs: What’s the Difference?
When you think about how much it costs to hire a lawyer, you may only be thinking of the attorney fees. That’s not the only cost involved in a court case, however. There are also case costs, which are the actual out-of-pocket expenses that come with building a case and filing a lawsuit. These expenses can include things like:
- The cost of obtaining medical records and billing statements
- Court filing fees
- Fees for expert witnesses
- Deposition and transcript expenses
- Accident reconstruction costs
- Investigation-related expenses
These costs are a normal and necessary part of any case and are reimbursed from the settlement at the end of your case. The Florida Bar doesn’t have limitations on these costs in the same way that it does for attorneys’ fees, but it does require that every claimed cost be reasonable, clearly explained, and fully documented. This means that every single expense must be completely transparent and itemized so you can easily see exactly what was spent and why.
Depending on your situation, these costs may be owed regardless of whether or not your case is successful. If your case is successful, they’re simply deducted from the total recovery after the case has settled.
Ready To Talk About Your Case? We’re Here To Help
Whether you want to discuss your case or are just exploring your legal options, we’re here to help. Contact us anytime for a free consultation, and remember that you won’t have to pay a thing unless your case is successful. We’re here to answer any questions you have, explain the process, and stand by your side every step of the way. When you’re ready to talk, we’re here to listen.
