Personal Injury Attorney Fees

Personal injury attorneys in Kentucky work on contingency: the client pays nothing upfront, and the attorney fee comes out of the settlement or verdict. Contingency fee structures still differ. Many firms charge 40% before a lawsuit is filed and raise the rate to 45% once the case moves into litigation or trial, an increase that can cost a client tens of thousands of dollars. The contingency fee at Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers never increases, and the Bigger Share Guarantee® means the client always takes home more money than the firm.

Contingency Fees in Kentucky

Under a contingency fee arrangement, the attorney is paid only if the client recovers. The fee is a percentage of the gross recovery, the total settlement or court award before case expenses are deducted.

Kentucky’s Rules of Professional Conduct govern those agreements. SCR 3.130(1.5) requires a contingent fee agreement in a writing signed by the client that states the percentage or percentages the lawyer receives in settlement, trial, or appeal, the expenses deducted from the recovery, and whether those expenses come out before or after the fee is calculated. The rule tracks ABA Model Rule 1.5.

A contingency fee ties the attorney’s financial interest to the client’s: a larger recovery means a larger fee. It also gives injured people access to representation without any upfront cost.

Tiered Fee Structures

The most common contingency fee structure at personal injury firms has three tiers:

• Pre-litigation, before a lawsuit is filed: 40% of the recovery
• Litigation, after a lawsuit is filed and before trial: 45% of the recovery
• Trial: 45% or higher

That structure creates a problem on both sides. An insurer that delays and resists settlement can push the case into litigation, where the attorney’s share rises and the client’s net recovery shrinks. A firm whose fee increases at litigation also has a financial reason to file suit early, because filing moves its share from 40% to 45% of the recovery.

Tiered Fee Example

A $100,000 settlement reached after a lawsuit was filed shows how the numbers fall under a 45% litigation-stage fee:

In that example the attorney receives $45,000 and the client receives $35,000, so the attorney takes home more than the client. Tiered fees combined with drawn-out negotiations produce that result.

Flat Fee Model at Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers

The contingency fee at Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers stays the same from signing to resolution. It does not increase if the case goes to litigation, and it does not increase if the case goes to trial.

A flat fee means an insurer’s stall tactics do not come out of the client’s share. It also removes any financial incentive to push a case into litigation early. When the firm and the client decide to file a lawsuit, the reason is a better result for the client, not a higher percentage for the firm.

Bigger Share Guarantee®

Under the Bigger Share Guarantee®, clients always walk away with more money than the firm after medical bills, liens, and case expenses are paid. If the client’s share would ever be less than the legal fee, the firm cuts its fee. The contingency fee calculator shows how a flat fee and a tiered fee compare on the same recovery.

Case Expenses Versus Attorney Fees

Attorney fees and case expenses are separate charges:

• Attorney fees are the percentage of the recovery the firm earns for its work.
• Case expenses are the costs of building and pursuing the case, such as court filing fees, medical record retrieval, deposition costs, expert witness fees, and accident reconstruction. The firm advances them and they are deducted from the settlement at the end.

Before signing any fee agreement, a client should ask about both the percentage and the handling of expenses, including whether expenses are deducted before or after the attorney fee is calculated. SCR 3.130(1.5) requires the written agreement to answer that question.

$0 Out-Of-Pocket Forever

Clients of Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers never receive a bill for the case: not for a case review, a filing fee, or an expert witness deposit. The firm advances those costs, and if there is no recovery, the client owes nothing, neither the attorney fee nor the advanced expenses.

Services the Fee Covers

The contingency fee pays for a dedicated three-person team, a top-rated attorney, an experienced case manager, and a skilled legal assistant, who handle:

• Evidence preservation and case investigation
• Insurance communications and negotiations
• Medical records collection and organization
• Demand package preparation
• Litigation and trial preparation at no added fee
• Coordination with medical liens and health insurance

A fee is only one factor in choosing the right personal injury lawyer.

Fee Structure and Litigation Decisions

When a firm’s fee rises from 40% to 45% at litigation, filing a lawsuit increases the firm’s share even when filing is not the best move for the client at that moment. Because the fee at Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers never changes, filing suit early brings the firm no added percentage. Litigation is a joint decision between the firm and the client, made when going to court should put more money in the client’s pocket.

The firm has recorded 50+ seven- and eight-figure results, built on cases insurers cannot afford to take to trial rather than on quick settlements. Examples appear on the personal injury practice area page.