Part 1 of a 3-Part Series on Personal Injury Attorney Fees
When someone is seriously injured or loses a family member because of negligence, hiring a lawyer is rarely a planned decision. It often happens during a period of uncertainty, financial stress, and urgent questions — including one of the most important: How does a personal injury lawyer get paid?
Understanding attorney fees is an essential part of choosing the right law firm. In personal injury and wrongful death cases, most attorneys are paid through a structure designed to provide access to legal representation without upfront legal fees: the contingency fee agreement.
What Is a Contingency Fee Agreement?
A contingency fee agreement means the lawyer is paid only if there is a successful financial recovery through settlement or verdict. If there is no recovery, no attorney’s fee is owed.
Unlike hourly billing, which is common in areas such as divorce, estate planning, or criminal defense, personal injury representation is typically based on a percentage of the amount recovered for the client.
Massachusetts law requires every contingency fee agreement to:
Be in writing
Be signed by both the client and attorney
Clearly explain how fees and expenses will be handled
This structure promotes transparency while allowing clients to pursue claims without paying legal fees as the case progresses.
Contingency Fee Percentages
In Massachusetts personal injury and wrongful death cases, the common contingency fee percentage is 33⅓% with some variances discussed below. These percentages are not arbitrary. They reflect the level of work, risk, and financial investment required to pursue a case responsibly. Several factors influence how a fee is determined:
Some firms, however, charge higher fees of 40% or above. Any potential client should research what a particular firm’s fee structure is before making a hiring decision.
Case Complexity
Some claims involve clear liability and well-documented injuries. Others require extensive investigation, technical analysis, or coordination among multiple parties. Medical malpractice, product liability, catastrophic injury, and disputed causation cases often demand significant expert involvement before responsibility can be established.
Litigation Risk
Not every valid claim results in recovery. Attorneys must evaluate disputed facts, legal defenses, insurance coverage issues, and witness credibility. In contingency fee cases, the law firm assumes the financial risk of investing time and resources without guaranteed payment.
Time and Resources Required
Serious injury and wrongful death cases frequently take years to resolve. Attorneys and staff devote substantial effort to investigation, discovery, motion practice, negotiation, and trial preparation. Law firms also advance litigation expenses such as expert fees, depositions, medical reviews, and court costs.
The contingency fee structure reflects these realities while allowing injured individuals to pursue claims without paying legal fees upfront.
Legal Limits on Attorney Fees in Certain Cases
Some claims are governed by laws that limit the percentage attorneys may charge.
Medical Malpractice Cases
Massachusetts applies a sliding-scale fee structure in medical malpractice claims, meaning the maximum allowable attorney fee percentage decreases as the total recovery increases. The goal is to balance fair compensation for legal work with protection for injured patients.
Claims Against the United States Government In personal injury or wrongful death cases brought under federal law against the United States, attorney fees are capped at 25% of the recovery.
These statutory limits are designed to preserve access to representation while maintaining fairness in specialized legal frameworks.
Case Expenses: An Often Overlooked Part of Fee Agreements
Attorney fees are only one component of a personal injury representation agreement. Equally important is how litigation expenses are handled.
Serious injury and wrongful death cases often require substantial upfront expenditures, including:
These costs arise throughout the case — often long before any recovery occurs.
While contingency agreements may allow expenses to be billed as they arise, many injured individuals are not in a position to finance litigation during a crisis. Firms such as ours typically advance these costs and seek reimbursement only from the final recovery. Building a strong case should never depend on a client’s financial resources.
Why Contingency Fees Exist
Contingency fees serve an important role in the civil justice system: they make legal representation accessible to people who might otherwise be unable to pursue accountability.
They also align the interests of lawyer and client. Success for one depends on success for the other. For injured individuals, this structure shifts financial risk away from the client and places it on the law firm.
If you would like to speak with one of SUGARMAN’s attorneys about a personal injury or wrongful death matter, contact us at 617-542-1000, email , or fill out our contact form.
Coming Next in the Series:
Part 2:Changing Lawyers and Fee Splitting — what happens to attorney fees if you decide to change law firms during an ongoing personal injury case.
