Fees and costs
No fee unless there is a recovery. That sentence is on every injury firm's website, so here is what it actually means, including the parts that are usually left out.
The short version
- The consultation is free, and there is no obligation.
- You pay nothing up front, ever.
- The fee is a percentage of what is recovered — if there is no recovery, there is no fee.
- Case costs are advanced by the firm as the case goes along.
- Everything is set out in a written agreement you read and sign before anything begins.
Fees and costs are different things
This is the distinction that catches people out, and it is worth being clear about before you sign anything with any firm.
| The fee | A percentage of the recovery, paid to the firm for the work. Commonly varies by stage — lower if a case resolves before suit is filed, higher if it is litigated or tried, reflecting the work and the risk. |
|---|---|
| Case costs | Money spent running the case: filing fees, records, deposition transcripts, investigators, and expert witnesses. In a litigated case experts are by far the largest. Advanced by the firm and reimbursed from the recovery. |
What a settlement is actually divided into
A settlement figure is not a check. Four things come out of it, in this order, and understanding that before you negotiate is what stops a disappointing day at the end.
- The attorney's fee, as set out in the agreement.
- Case costs advanced during the case.
- Medical liens and insurance reimbursement — hospital liens, treating providers paid on a lien, health plan reimbursement, Medi-Cal or Medicare. See how these work.
- The net to you.
The third item is where a great deal of real money is won or lost, and it is the part most people have never heard of. Liens are frequently negotiable, and reducing them puts money directly in a client's pocket at the end of a case without any further negotiation with the insurer.
What if we lose?
No recovery means no fee. That is what contingency means and it is not qualified.
On advanced case costs, practice differs between firms and it is a specific question worth asking of anyone you speak to: if the case is lost, do you owe the costs that were advanced? Get the answer in writing in the agreement rather than in conversation.
Reviewed October 2026 by Simon Aziz Budhwani, Esq., the attorney responsible for this site. Legal statements here name the California code section they rely on, so you can check them rather than trust them. This is information about the law in general, not advice about your situation.
Find out where you stand.
Tell us what happened and we will tell you honestly whether you have a claim worth bringing, what it is likely to involve, and how long it tends to take. The review is free and there is no fee unless there is a recovery.