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Contingency Fee vs. Hourly Billing for an Injury Case
Short answer
Should an injury lawyer be paid on contingency or by the hour?
Nearly all California personal injury representation is contingency-based: the attorney is paid a percentage of what is recovered and takes nothing if there is no recovery. Hourly billing is used for matters where there is no money award to take a percentage from — business disputes, defense work, some contract claims. For an injury claim, contingency shifts the financial risk of the case from the injured person to the firm.
Contingency fee vs. Hourly billing at a glance
| Factor | Contingency fee | Hourly billing |
|---|---|---|
| Payment up front | None | Retainer, usually paid before work begins |
| If the case does not recover | No attorney fee | You still owe every hour billed |
| Who carries the risk | The firm | The client |
| Predictability | Fee is a known percentage of the recovery | Total cost is unknown until the matter ends |
| Case costs (filing, experts, records) | Usually advanced by the firm and reimbursed from the recovery | Billed to the client as incurred |
| Typical use | Injury, wrongful death, some employment cases | Defense, business, transactional work |
How a contingency fee is calculated
The fee is a percentage of the gross recovery, defined in the written fee agreement. California requires contingency agreements to be in writing and to state the rate, how costs are handled, and that the rate is negotiable and not set by law (Business & Professions Code § 6147).
Read the cost clause specifically. Whether you owe case costs when there is no recovery is a separate question from the fee, and firms handle it differently.
Why hourly rarely fits an injury claim
An injury case can require accident reconstruction, treating-physician depositions, and months of litigation before its value is clear. Billed hourly, that work would cost more than most households can carry while also out of work and paying medical bills.
Contingency exists so that the ability to bring a claim does not depend on the injured person's cash on hand.
Questions to ask before you sign a fee agreement
Ask what the percentage is before and after a lawsuit is filed, who advances case costs, whether you owe costs if the case does not recover, how medical liens are handled, and who at the firm will actually work the file.
Hollywood Injury Law Center works on contingency: a free consultation, and no fee unless we win your case. Call (323) 850-0101 to review the agreement line by line before signing anything.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a contingency percentage set by California law?
- No. Outside of medical malpractice, which has statutory limits under MICRA, the rate is negotiated between the client and the firm and must be stated in a written agreement.
- Do I owe case costs if we lose?
- That depends entirely on your fee agreement. Ask for the clause to be pointed out and explained before you sign.
- Does the fee come out before or after medical bills are paid?
- The written agreement controls the order in which fees, case costs, and medical liens are paid from the recovery. Ask for a sample settlement breakdown.
Talk it through with an attorney — free
Hollywood Injury Law Center represents injured people across Los Angeles County from our West Hollywood office. No fee unless we win your case.
This page is general information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Hollywood Injury Law Center — Bash & Polyachenko P.C. is licensed to practice in California. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.