The Short Answer
In Indiana, personal injury lawyers typically charge a contingency fee between 33% and 40% of the total compensation recovered in your case. You pay nothing up front, and if your lawyer doesn’t win, you don’t owe them anything.
Key Takeaways
- Personal injury lawyers in Indiana are paid on contingency, meaning no fee unless you win.
- The standard fee is between 33% and 40% of your total recovery.
- You pay nothing out of pocket to get started.
- Your lawyer’s fee comes out of your settlement or court award, not your own wallet.
- Case costs like expert witnesses and court fees are separate from the attorney’s fee.
- Most personal injury cases settle before ever going to trial.
- Injury victims who hire a lawyer consistently recover more compensation than those who go it alone, even after the attorney’s fee is deducted.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Contingency Fee?
- How Much Does the Ken Nunn Law Office Charge?
- Benefits of Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer on Contingency
- Will There Be Other Costs Besides the Attorney Fee?
- Most Personal Injury Cases Settle Before Going to Trial
- Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer Contingency Fee FAQs
- Get a Free Consultation With an Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer
- Related Articles & Info
What Is a Contingency Fee?
If you’ve been hurt in an accident, you might assume that hiring a lawyer means paying a big bill upfront—like you would a doctor or a contractor. But personal injury lawyers work differently.
Most personal injury lawyers work on what’s called a contingency fee. In this case, “contingency” means your lawyer doesn’t get paid unless you win your case. A contingency fee is usually a percentage of the total compensation awarded for your case.
How Much Is a Personal Injury Lawyer’s Contingency Fee?
In Indiana, personal injury lawyers usually charge a contingency fee between 33% and 40% of your total recovery. The exact percentage can vary depending on the complexity of your case and the law firm you work with.
One thing worth knowing is that some lawyers use a sliding scale. This means the percentage they charge can increase if your case goes to trial. For example, a lawyer might charge 33% if your case settles before trial, but closer to 40% if it ends up in front of a jury. This is because trials take significantly more time and resources than settlements.
How Much Does the Ken Nunn Law Office Charge?
If you’ve been injured in an accident, we know you’re already facing challenges like unexpected medical bills, car repair costs, and missed time at work. That’s why we work on a contingency fee basis to make legal representation accessible to every single person in Indiana, regardless of their financial situation.
The Breakdown of Our Fee Structure
When you trust us with your personal injury case, here’s exactly what to expect:
- It’s free to get started: You won’t need a single dollar to hire us. We can review your case, answer your questions, and begin investigating your accident at no upfront cost.
- No fee unless we win: Our fee is a percentage of the compensation we recover for you, whether through a settlement or a court verdict. If we don’t win, you owe us nothing.
- We cover case costs upfront: We front the expenses involved in building your case. And unlike some firms, if we don’t recover compensation for you, you won’t owe us anything for those costs either. You can review our full fee policy here.
- Standard Indiana fee percentages:
- Typically, our fee for cases that settle out of court is 33.3%.
- If your case goes to trial, that percentage may increase up to 40% to account for the additional time and work involved.
Why We Use This Model
We believe everyone deserves fierce legal protection after an accident that wasn’t their fault. Charging upfront retainers or hourly rates would put that help out of reach for most people.
Additionally, with our contingency fee structure, our success is tied directly to yours. The harder we fight for you, the better the outcome for both of us. If you’ve been injured, schedule a consultation with one of our personal injury lawyers to get started with your case.
Benefits of Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer on Contingency
Contingency fees aren’t just convenient. They actually work in your favor in a few important ways.
- You don’t need money to get started: There’s no retainer, no hourly bill, and no upfront cost to hire a personal injury lawyer. If you’ve just been hurt in an accident, the last thing you should have to worry about is whether you can afford legal help.
- Your lawyer is motivated to win: Because your lawyer only gets paid if you do, they have a real stake in the outcome of your case. They’re not billing you by the hour regardless of the result. They win when you win.
- Anyone can get quality legal representation: The contingency fee model levels the playing field. It means that someone with serious injuries can go up against a large insurance company with the same legal firepower, regardless of their financial situation.
- You can focus on your recovery: When a lawyer is handling the paperwork, the phone calls, the negotiations, and the legal deadlines, you can put your energy into getting better instead of fighting with insurance companies.
Will There Be Other Costs Besides the Attorney Fee?
At some law firms, yes. Building a personal injury case involves more than just your attorney’s time. There are real expenses that come up along the way, and not every firm handles them the same way. Here’s what those costs can look like, and how we do things at the Ken Nunn Law Office.
Case Costs vs. Attorney Fees
At many firms, case costs are billed separately from the attorney’s contingency fee. Your attorney’s fee is the percentage they take from your settlement, while case costs are the actual expenses involved in building and fighting your case. Depending on the firm, these can add up quickly.
Expert Witness Fees
Some cases require expert witnesses to help prove your injuries or explain what happened. These are professionals like doctors, accident reconstruction specialists, or economists who charge for their time and testimony.
Deposition and Court Costs
If your case moves toward a lawsuit, there are costs involved in the legal process itself. Depositions, court filing fees, and other procedural expenses are all part of building a strong case.
Investigation and Administrative Costs
Getting the evidence needed to support your case takes work. That can include obtaining police reports, medical records, photos, and other evidence that helps tell your story.
How We Handle These Costs
At the Ken Nunn Law Office, we front all of these expenses while your case is moving forward. If we win, these costs are deducted from your settlement before you receive your share. And if we don’t recover anything for you, you won’t owe us anything for attorney fees or case costs. That’s our policy, plain and simple.
Most Personal Injury Cases Settle Before Going to Trial
If the idea of going to court makes you nervous, you’re not alone. But here’s something worth knowing: most personal injury cases never make it to trial. The majority are resolved through a settlement, which means both sides reach an agreement on compensation without ever stepping into a courtroom.
That’s good news for your wallet, too. Settling your case earlier in the process typically means lower overall case costs, which means more compensation in your pocket at the end. Working with an experienced personal injury lawyer gives you the best chance of reaching a fair settlement without the time, stress, and expense of a trial.
Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer Contingency Fee FAQs
How Are Contingency Fees Calculated?
Your contingency fee is calculated as a percentage of the total amount you recover in your case. So, if your case settles for $100,000 and your attorney’s contingency fee is 33%, their fee would be $33,000. You’d receive the remaining $67,000, minus any case costs that were deducted from your settlement.
It’s important to understand that the percentage is taken from your total recovery before any case costs are subtracted. Make sure you understand how your specific fee agreement works before signing anything.
Do Personal Injury Lawyers Charge Hourly or Flat Fees?
Most personal injury lawyers don’t charge by the hour or a flat rate upfront. Hourly and flat fee arrangements are more common in other areas of law, like estate planning or business contracts. For personal injury cases, contingency fees are the standard because they allow injured people to get legal help without paying anything out of pocket.
Is It Worth It to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
In most cases, yes. Studies consistently show that injury victims who hire a lawyer recover significantly more compensation than those who handle their case on their own, even after the attorney’s fee is deducted. Insurance companies have experienced legal teams working to minimize what they pay you. Having an attorney levels the playing field.
Beyond the compensation, a lawyer handles the paperwork, the phone calls, the negotiations, and the legal deadlines so you can focus on recovering from your injuries.
Will We Discuss Fees During My Consultation?
Yes. At the Ken Nunn Law Office, your initial consultation is free, and we’ll walk you through exactly how our fee agreement works before you commit to anything. You’ll know our contingency fee percentage, how case costs are handled, and what to expect throughout the process. Everything will be put in writing so there are no surprises down the road.
Do I Still Owe Anything If You Don’t Win My Case?
No. At the Ken Nunn Law Office, you won’t owe us an attorney’s fee if we don’t win your case. That’s the whole point of our contingency fee agreement. We only get paid when you get paid. The only thing we’ll ask you to do is review how case costs are handled in your specific fee agreement, so you know exactly where you stand before we get started.
Is There a Deadline to File a Personal Injury Claim in Indiana?
Yes. In Indiana, you generally have two years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. This is called the statute of limitations. If you miss this deadline, you’ll likely lose your right to recover any compensation at all, no matter how strong your case is. That’s why it’s important not to wait too long before talking to a lawyer.
When Should You Talk to an Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer?
As soon as possible after your accident. Evidence can disappear, witnesses can forget details, and insurance companies move quickly to protect their own interests. The sooner you have a lawyer in your corner, the better your chances of building a strong case. And since your consultation is free and there’s no upfront cost to hire us, there’s no reason to wait.
Get a Free Consultation With an Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’ve been hurt in an accident, you don’t have to figure this out on your own. At the Ken Nunn Law Office, our team of lawyers has been helping injured Hoosiers get the compensation they deserve for decades. And it won’t cost you anything to find out where you stand.
There’s no upfront fee, no obligation, and no risk. We’ll listen to what happened, answer your questions, and let you know what we think your case is worth. If we take your case, you won’t owe us anything unless we win.
If you’ve been hurt, don’t wait! The clock is ticking, and the 2-year deadline will come faster than you might think. Contact a personal injury attorney at the Ken Nunn Law Office and schedule your free consultation.
