Personal Injury Attorney Fees
Most PI lawyers charge more when your case gets harder. We don’t. No increased litigation fees — whether your case settles tomorrow or goes to trial next year. That’s our Bigger Share Guarantee.
Personal injury attorneys in Kentucky work on contingency — meaning you pay nothing upfront and the attorney’s fee comes out of your settlement. But not all contingency fee structures are the same. Many firms charge a lower rate if your case settles before a lawsuit is filed, then bump that rate to 40% or 45% if it goes to litigation or trial. That increase can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers charges a no increased litigation fees — the same rate regardless of where your case is in the process. And our Bigger Share Guarantee® means you always take home more money than the firm.
How Contingency Fees Work in Kentucky
A contingency fee arrangement means your attorney only gets paid if you win. The fee is calculated as a percentage of your gross recovery — the total amount of your settlement or court award before case expenses are deducted. Kentucky’s Supreme Court Rules govern attorney fee agreements, requiring written disclosure of the fee percentage and how expenses will be handled.
Contingency fee arrangements align your attorney’s financial interest with yours: the bigger your settlement, the more the firm earns. This is why contingency representation gives injury victims access to serious legal help without any upfront cost.
The Problem With Tiered Fee Structures
The most common contingency fee structure at personal injury firms works like this:
- Pre-litigation (before lawsuit filed): 33%–35% of the recovery
- Litigation (after lawsuit filed, before trial): 40% of the recovery
- Trial: 45% of the recovery
At first glance, that 33% pre-litigation rate sounds attractive. But here’s the reality: insurance companies know that if they can delay and resist a settlement, they can force the case into litigation — at which point your attorney’s share jumps, and your net recovery shrinks. The insurer saves money. You lose money.
Tiered Fee Example: What You Actually Take Home
The attorney received $40,000. The client received $10,000. This is not hypothetical — it happens every day when tiered fee structures are combined with drawn-out negotiations.
Our Fee Model: No increased litigation fees, No Matter What
At Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers, we charge a no increased litigation fees contingency fee — and that rate never changes. Not if your case settles in two months. Not if the insurer drags it into litigation. Not if we take it to trial. The number stays the same: 35%.
That means the insurer’s stall tactics don’t help them at your expense. Our incentive is always to get you the best outcome — not to rush a settlement at the pre-litigation rate or to push into trial to justify a higher rate.
Bigger Share Guarantee®
With our Bigger Share Guarantee®, you always take home more money than the firm. We keep less so you get more. Every time. That’s a commitment backed by a no increased litigation fees fee that never increases — for any reason, at any stage of your case.
Case Expenses vs. Attorney Fees
Attorney fees and case expenses are two separate things. It’s important to understand both:
- Attorney fees — the percentage of your recovery the firm earns for its work. Ours: no increased litigation fees.
- Case expenses — out-of-pocket costs to build and pursue your case: court filing fees, medical record retrieval, deposition costs, expert witness fees, accident reconstruction, etc. These are advanced by the firm and deducted from your settlement at the end — you never write a check upfront.
Before signing any fee agreement, ask specifically about both the percentage and how expenses are handled — including whether expenses are deducted before or after the attorney fee is calculated. We’re transparent about this from day one.
What “$0 Out-Of-Pocket Forever” Actually Means
You will never receive a bill from Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers. You will never be asked to pay for anything — not a consultation, not a filing fee, not an expert witness deposit, not a postage stamp. We front everything. If we don’t win your case, we absorb those costs. You owe us nothing.
This isn’t marketing language. It’s our business model. We accept that risk because we take cases we believe in — and we build them to win.
What Our Fee Covers
Your 35% pays for your dedicated team of three — attorney, case manager, and legal assistant — who handle every aspect of your case:
- Evidence preservation and case investigation
- All insurance communications and negotiations
- Medical records collection and organization
- Demand package preparation
- Litigation and trial preparation (at no additional fee)
- Coordination with medical liens and health insurance
Learn about how to choose the right personal injury lawyer to understand what you should be looking for beyond the fee.
How Our Fee Structure Affects Your Settlement Strategy
Here’s something most clients don’t consider: when a firm’s fee jumps at litigation, they have a built-in incentive to settle pre-suit at any price — because filing a lawsuit increases their workload without increasing their share proportionally. With a flat fee, we don’t have that bias. We pursue every case as far as the evidence supports.
Our 40+ Seven-Figure Results Since 2020 come from building cases that insurance companies can’t afford to take to trial — not from pressuring clients into quick settlements that leave money on the table. See what that looks like in practice on our personal injury practice area page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the standard contingency fee for a personal injury case in Kentucky?
Most Kentucky personal injury firms charge between 33% and 40% depending on the stage of the case — with tiered structures that increase the fee once a lawsuit is filed. Some firms charge 45% for trial work. Our flat rate of 35% is competitive at the pre-litigation stage and significantly below market once cases are litigated or tried.
How is a contingency fee calculated on my settlement?
Your attorney’s fee is calculated as a percentage of your gross recovery. For example, on a $200,000 settlement with our no increased litigation fees rate, the attorney fee is $70,000. Case expenses are then deducted separately. Ask any firm you interview whether expenses are deducted before or after the attorney fee — the order of operations can significantly affect your net recovery.
What is the Bigger Share Guarantee?
Our Bigger Share Guarantee® is a commitment that you will always take home more money from your settlement than the firm. With a no increased litigation fees fee, the client always retains 65% of the gross recovery (before deduction of case expenses that were advanced). This is in contrast to firms where the fee exceeds 50% of the client’s net share once expenses are factored in.
Are there any costs I might owe even if I lose?
No. If we don’t recover anything on your case, you owe nothing — not the attorney fee and not the case expenses we advanced. We assume all financial risk when we take your case. This is what “$0 Out-Of-Pocket Forever” means in practice.
Does the fee include expert witness costs?
No. Attorney fees and case expenses are separate. Expert witnesses, accident reconstruction, medical records, court filings, and depositions are case expenses that we advance on your behalf and recover from the settlement. These costs are in addition to the 35% attorney fee — and they’re never charged to you out of pocket. We front everything and collect at the end from your settlement proceeds.
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