Here is the short answer. Almost every personal injury lawyer in Florida works on a contingency fee. That means you pay nothing up front, and the lawyer only gets paid if they win money for you. The fee is a slice of that money. A state rule limits how big the slice can be, and every lawyer in Florida has to follow it.
I am Mark Hirsch. I handle personal injury cases and workers' compensation claims in Florida, plus Defense Base Act claims for civilian contractors hurt overseas. The fee question comes up in the first ten minutes of most calls I take. This post gives you the real numbers and the rule behind them. By the end you will know what a Florida injury lawyer is allowed to charge, which bills come out of your money, the five questions to ask before you sign, and how the money gets split at the end.
Key takeaways
- You pay nothing up front, and no attorney fee at all unless money is recovered for you.
- The fee is a share of what is recovered. Settle early and the share is smaller. Once the case is being fought in court, it is bigger.
- Case costs, like filing fees and medical records, are billed separately from the fee.
- You have three business days to change your mind after signing.
- Claims against a doctor or hospital follow a stricter limit that keeps most of the first $250,000 with the client.
- If you were hurt at work, or overseas on a government contract, someone other than you may be paying the lawyer.
What a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Charge in Florida
The fee is not a number each firm makes up. A Florida Bar rule, Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(i), sets the most a lawyer can charge in injury, wrongful death, and product cases. Charge more than that without a judge approving it first, and the rule treats the fee as too high. Its exact words are "presumed, unless rebutted, to be clearly excessive."
One thing moves the number more than anything else: how far the case has gone. Once a lawsuit is filed, the other side has to file a written reply in court. That reply is called an answer. Settle before it arrives and the fee stays at the lower rate. These are the limits as of August 2026.
| Where the case is when it ends | First $1 million | $1M to $2M | Above $2M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Settled before the other side files its written court response | 33 1/3% | 30% | 20% |
| After the other side responds in court, up to judgment | 40% | 30% | 20% |
| Every defendant admits fault, so trial is only about the amount | 33 1/3% | 20% | 15% |
| Case continues into an appeal or collection after judgment | Adds 5 percentage points to whichever row above applies | ||
Two things about that table get missed. First, those percentages are limits, not set prices. The Florida Bar says so in its guide to attorneys' fees: "You, the client, have the right to talk with your lawyer about the proposed fee and to bargain about the rate or percentage as in any other contract." Second, look at the third row. If everyone being sued admits fault right away, the fee stays at the lower rate even when the case goes to trial over how much you are owed.
Those limits can be lifted. Say a case is hard enough that no lawyer will take it at those rates. Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(ii) lets you ask a judge to approve a higher fee. The judge's job is to make sure you understand what you are agreeing to.
Case Costs Are a Separate Bill
The fee pays the lawyer. Costs pay everyone else. Most firms pay these bills as they come up, then take that money back out of your settlement at the end, so you see the total once. Here are the ones with public price tags, as of August 2026:
- Court filing fee: up to $395 to start a civil case in circuit court, under section 28.241, Florida Statutes. County court charges the same $395 on claims over $15,000 per section 34.041.
- Handing the lawsuit to the other side: $40 for each person the sheriff delivers papers to, under section 30.231. Two people being sued means two fees.
- Medical records: $1.00 per page for the first 25 pages and 25 cents per page after that, under Florida Administrative Code Rule 64B8-10.003. A hospital stay can run hundreds of pages.
- Sworn interviews and expert witnesses: no set price. A sworn interview, called a deposition, needs a court reporter, and doctors charge their own rates to testify. In a case that goes to court, this is usually the biggest cost of all.
Ask for an estimate of these costs in writing before you sign. The same Florida Bar guide says money you put down for costs "is different from the lawyer's fees to be charged in a case," and that your lawyer "should give a reasonable estimate about future necessary costs."
5 Questions I Tell People to Ask Before They Sign
Fee contracts in Florida look alike because the rule makes them look alike. The differences show up in the answers to these five.
- Do costs come out before or after your fee? The contract has to say. It changes how much the firm takes and how much you take home. In the example below, a $90,000 case with $10,000 in costs, the gap is about $3,300.
- If we lose, do I still owe the costs? Some contracts say you do. The Florida Bar warns that you can owe costs after a loss "unless your contract specifically says that you do not owe the costs if you lose." Get the answer in writing.
- Who is actually going to work on my case? The lawyer has to tell you up front if the case will be handed to another firm or shared with one. Every firm that shares the fee signs your contract.
- Will I get a closing statement? That is the page at the end showing every dollar in and out. You have the right to see it and approve it before any money is paid out. Nothing moves until you sign off.
- Can I change my mind? Yes. You get three business days after signing to cancel in writing, and you owe no fee for that time.
What You Actually Take Home at the End
The fee is not the only thing taken out. A settlement check gets paid out in a set order, and the paperwork has to show every step.
- The attorney fee and the case costs come out first, in whichever order your contract sets.
- People you owe get paid next. That means doctors and hospitals who have not been paid yet, plus money owed back to a health plan or a government program. If a doctor treated you on the promise of getting paid out of the case, that promise is called a letter of protection. Section 768.0427, Florida Statutes defines it as treatment given "in exchange for a promise of payment for the claimant's medical expenses from any judgment or settlement."
- Whatever is left is yours. That last number, not the headline amount, is the one to look at when you are deciding whether to take an offer.
Rule 4-1.5(f)(1) makes your lawyer hand you that written statement at the end. It has to show what you are being paid and how that number was reached, plus a list of every cost, every lawyer's fee, and every payment going to someone else out of the money. Go through it line by line. Medical bills can often be talked down, and every dollar knocked off one lands in your pocket, not the lawyer's.
Medical Malpractice Claims Follow a Different Limit
If the claim is against a doctor or a hospital, the limit comes from the Florida Constitution, not the Bar rule. Article I, Section 26, added by voters in 2004, says the injured person "is entitled to receive no less than 70% of the first $250,000.00 in all damages received by the claimant, exclusive of reasonable and customary costs." Claimant is just the legal word for the injured person. Above $250,000, they keep 90 percent.
So on a $250,000 result, the fee cannot go above $75,000. That is well under the 33 1/3 percent a car crash case would allow. Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(iii) also makes the lawyer give you the wording of that constitutional rule in writing, and say out loud what it means, before you sign.
You can give that protection up. It takes a signed, sworn form printed in the rule, which is one reason to read a medical malpractice fee contract slowly. Our page on medical malpractice claims in Florida covers how those cases are built, and the 90-day pre-suit period is the deadline to watch on the front end.
A Work Injury Changes Who Pays the Lawyer
People assume the same percentage applies to every injury case. It does not. If you were hurt on the job in Florida, section 440.34, Florida Statutes sets the fee at 20 percent of the first $5,000 the lawyer gets you. It drops to 15 percent of the next $5,000, then 10 percent of the rest for the first ten years, and 5 percent after that. A workers' compensation judge has to sign off on the fee. Without that approval, no one can collect one.
Federal claims go further in your favor. Under 33 U.S.C. section 928, part of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), the insurance company can be ordered to pay your lawyer directly, on top of your benefits. That happens when the employer or its insurer refuses to pay within thirty days of being told about the claim, and you then win with a lawyer's help. The Defense Base Act (DBA) extends that same law to civilian contractors working for the United States overseas. I walk through how that plays out in who pays attorney fees in a Defense Base Act claim, and our Defense Base Act practice page explains the claim itself.
One more money point. Most injury money is not taxed. On the parts that are, the tax is figured on the whole amount, including the lawyer's share. I covered that in what the IRS taxes in a 2026 injury settlement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I pay anything to talk to a personal injury lawyer in Florida?
A: First meetings on injury cases are normally free. No attorney fee is owed unless the lawyer wins money for you. Ask about case costs too, since those are handled apart from the fee.
Q: Is a 40 percent contingency fee legal in Florida?
A: Yes, once the defendant has filed its written court response, or the time to file it has run out. Before that point, 33 1/3 percent of the first $1 million is the most a lawyer can charge under Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(i). Anything more needs a judge's approval.
Q: Can I negotiate a personal injury lawyer's fee?
A: You can. The Florida Bar tells clients they may bargain over the rate or percentage. You may also talk with other lawyers if you do not reach a deal. Whether a firm says yes is up to the firm.
Q: What if I fire my lawyer partway through the case?
A: Inside the first 3 business days you owe no fee. You may still owe money the lawyer already spent. After that, a lawyer fired without good cause may be owed a fee for work already done. That fee usually comes out of the later recovery, not your pocket.
Q: Does the fee come out before or after medical bills are paid?
A: After. The fee and the costs come off first, then the doctors and health plans who are owed money, and what is left is yours. Ask what each one is owed before you approve the closing statement, because those bills can often be talked down.
Talk Through the Numbers Before You Sign Anything
The fee contract is the one paper you sign at the very start, when you know the least about the case. Maybe you were hurt in an accident in Florida, or you are a contractor with a Defense Base Act or Longshore claim anywhere in the country. Our team at Templer & Hirsch, Injury Lawyers will walk you through the fee, the costs, and what to expect before you agree to anything. Call 305-937-2700 or request a free case evaluation.
This is general information, not legal advice; consult an attorney about your situation.