What Is a Contingency Fee in a Personal Injury Case?

A contingency fee means your attorney is paid a percentage of the settlement or verdict you receive -- only if you win. If you do not recover money, you owe no attorney fees. This is the standard fee arrangement for personal injury cases in Utah and Idaho.

How Contingency Fees Work

At BAM Injury Law, there is no upfront cost to hire Kigan Martineau. If your case settles or wins at trial, the attorney fee is calculated as a percentage of the total recovery. Typical contingency fees in Utah personal injury cases range from 33% (one-third) to 40%, depending on whether the case settles before or after a lawsuit is filed.

What the Fee Covers

The contingency fee covers the attorney's time for all work on your case: investigation, negotiation, drafting demand letters, litigation (if needed), and trial preparation. Case costs (filing fees, expert witness fees, medical record retrieval) are typically advanced by the firm and reimbursed from the settlement at the end.

Utah Rules Governing Contingency Fees

Utah Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.5(c) requires contingency fee agreements to be in writing and to specify the percentage and how costs are handled. Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.5(c) has the same requirement. You should receive a written fee agreement before any work begins.

Why Contingency Fees Benefit Injury Victims

You can hire an experienced attorney without paying anything out of pocket, regardless of your financial situation. Your attorney's fee is aligned with maximizing your recovery -- the more you recover, the more the attorney earns.

Call BAM Injury Law at (801) 839-5652. Free consultation, no fee unless we win.