Personal Injury Attorney Fees
Most PI firms charge you more when your case gets harder.
We never do. That’s our Bigger Share Guarantee®.
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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. Most firms charge 40% before a lawsuit is filed, then bump that rate to 45% once your case goes to litigation or trial. That increase can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. At Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers, our fee never increases, no matter how far your case goes. 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 representation 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): 40% of the recovery
- Litigation (after lawsuit filed, before trial): 45% of the recovery
- Trial: 45% or higher
That tiered structure creates a problem on both sides. Insurance companies know that if they 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.
Worse, when a firm’s fee increases at litigation, they may have a financial reason to file suit early, even when it’s not in the client’s best interest. Filing a lawsuit bumps their share from 40% to 45%. That’s a 5% raise on your settlement, paid entirely by you.
Tiered Fee Example: What You Actually Take Home
The attorney received $45,000. The client received $35,000. The attorney took home more than the client. This is not hypothetical; it happens when tiered fee structures are combined with drawn-out negotiations.
With our Bigger Share Guarantee®, our fee never increases, no matter how far the case goes. The client always walks away with a bigger share than the firm. If the client’s share is ever less than ours, we cut our fee.
Our Fee Model: One Rate, No Increases, Ever
At Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers, our contingency fee stays the same from the day you sign until the day your case resolves. It does not increase if your case goes to litigation. It does not increase if your case goes to trial. The rate you agree to on day one is the rate you pay at the end.
That means the insurer’s stall tactics don’t work at your expense. And because our fee stays flat, there is no financial incentive for us to push a case into litigation prematurely. When we file a lawsuit, it’s because we believe it will put more money in your pocket, not because it bumps our percentage.
Bigger Share Guarantee®
With our Bigger Share Guarantee®, you always take home more money than the firm after all bills, liens, and costs are paid. If your share is ever less than ours, we cut our fee. It’s that simple. Our fee 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. Our rate never increases, regardless of how far your case goes.
- 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 contingency fee 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 from 40% to 45% at litigation, they may have a built-in reason to file suit as a matter of practice. Filing a lawsuit increases their share by 5%, even if it wasn’t the best move for the client at that moment. Some firms file early because it’s simply what they do; the fee bump is a bonus.
Because our fee never changes, we have zero financial incentive to file suit early. When we decide that litigation is the best path, it’s a joint decision between us and the client, made because we believe going to court will put more money in the client’s pocket. There is no self-motivated basis for that decision. The only reason we file is to get a better result.
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.
Related Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the standard contingency fee for a personal injury case in Kentucky?
Most Kentucky personal injury firms charge 40% before a lawsuit is filed and 45% once the case moves to litigation or trial. Those tiered structures mean the harder your case gets, the more you pay. At Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers, our rate never increases. Combined with our Bigger Share Guarantee®, you always walk away with more than the firm.
How is a contingency fee calculated on my settlement?
Your attorney’s fee is calculated as a percentage of your gross recovery. Case expenses are then deducted separately. Ask any firm you interview whether expenses are deducted before or after the attorney fee is calculated. 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, after all bills, liens, and costs are paid. If your share is ever less than ours, we cut our fee. This is possible because our rate never increases, keeping the firm’s share lower than what most competitors take.
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 attorney fee, and they’re never charged to you out of pocket. We front everything.
Does your fee increase if my case goes to litigation or trial?
Never. Our contingency fee stays the same from the day you sign until the day your case resolves. Most firms charge 40% pre-litigation and bump to 45% once a lawsuit is filed. We would never make you pay a higher percentage because of a joint decision that litigation is the best path for your case.
Why don’t other firms offer a flat fee like yours?
Tiered fee structures are the industry standard because they increase the firm’s revenue when cases become more work-intensive. The jump from 40% to 45% at litigation means the firm earns more every time a case moves past the demand stage. Our model prioritizes client outcomes over maximizing the firm’s share.