How contingency actually works
No hourly rates, no retainer, no bills while you're in physical therapy. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, collected at the end, from the result. The written agreement sets it before anything starts — read it, and expect a good office to walk you through every line.
Costs are separate — check who fronts them
Records, reports, expert reviews, filing fees. The line to check in any agreement: who advances costs, and what happens on a loss. Most contingency firms — ours included — advance everything and recover only from the result. You should never fund your own case while injured.
Is the fee worth it? The honest math
For a bumper-only claim, keep 100% and skip us. Once there's an injury, insurers price represented files differently, cases get built rather than guessed at, and the factors that decide settlements — future care, comparative fault, coverage-finding, lien negotiation — reward professional handling. Two-thirds of a properly built number routinely beats all of a first offer. The quiet lever: lien negotiation — including TRICARE's repayment claims for base families — often returns more than the fee took.
Five questions to ask before signing anywhere
- What's the percentage — and does it change if suit is filed?
- Who advances costs, and do I owe them on a loss?
- Do I approve any settlement before acceptance? (You should — always.)
- Will I see a written closing statement? (California requires it.)
- Who actually works my case, and how do I reach them?
Hesitation on any of those is an answer. And the clock matters more than the fee question: the practical deadline is about 30 days, while the evidence still exists. If cost worry kept you from calling about your claim — it was never the barrier it felt like.
