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In just about any personal injury attorney advertisement the words "no recovery, no fee" is usually prominently displayed. This fee arrangement is called a "contingent fee." This type of attorney fee agreement is a unique one. Typically, when one hires an attorney to perform legal work the client pays the attorney on an hourly basis. The client would give the attorney a "retainer" i.e. a certain sum to be billed against. With a contingent fee the attorney shares the risk with the client. If there is no settlement or court award then the client does not owe the attorney anything for his time. If the case produces a monetary settlement/award then the attorney charges an agreed upon percentage as his fee for handling the clients case. These fees are not fixed by law and may be the subject of negotiation between the personal injury attorney and personal injury client.

The contingent fee is an important vehicle in securing for the accident victim the personal injury attorney of their choice. Specifically, any accident/injury victim, even those without funds, can retain any personal injury attorney to represent them, subject, of course, to the attorneys willingness to accept the prospective clients particular case. Financial inability will not stand in the way of the accident victim securing the personal injury attorney of their choice.

Usually, the contingent fee will increase if the case goes into litigation. The fee for a minor (person under 18 years of age) will be set by the court in the event that the case is brought before the court for approval, i.e. in settlements over $5,000 the court is asked to review and approve the settlement through a procedure called a "minor's compromise". The foregoing applies to the typically personal injury case both big and small.

Medical malpractice cases, per statute in California, have a fixed cap percentage that may be charged as the contingent fee. A personal injury victim should thoroughly discuss the fee arrangement with the prospective personal injury attorney to insure that they have a complete understanding of the fee and how it is calculated. All personal injury lawyers will gladly take the requisite time to insure that their client's understand the process.