What Percentage Do Personal Injury Lawyers Take in Pennsylvania?

If you've been injured and are considering hiring a lawyer, one of the first questions you'll have is: how much of my settlement goes to attorney fees? Here's what you need to know about contingency fees in Pennsylvania.

The Standard Contingency Fee Range in Pennsylvania

Most Philadelphia personal injury attorneys charge a contingency fee of 33% to 40% of your total recovery. This means:

• 33% (one-third) if the case settles before filing a lawsuit
• 38–40% if the case requires filing suit
• 40% if the case goes to trial

Pennsylvania does not cap contingency fees in most personal injury cases (workers' compensation is an exception — fees are capped at 20% and must be approved by a judge).

How Case Expenses Are Handled

Attorney fees and case expenses are two different things. Expenses are the out-of-pocket costs of litigating your case: filing fees, medical records, expert witnesses, court reporters, accident reconstruction specialists, and more.

These expenses are typically advanced by the attorney and deducted from your settlement in addition to the fee percentage. On a $100,000 settlement with a 33% fee and $5,000 in expenses, you would receive:

Whether expenses are deducted before or after the fee percentage is applied also matters — always ask this specifically. Deducting expenses first (then taking the fee on the remainder) results in a higher net for you.

How to Evaluate Whether a Fee Is Reasonable

The percentage is less important than the total amount you take home. A skilled attorney who charges 40% but wins you $300,000 leaves you with $180,000 (minus expenses). A less experienced firm charging 33% who settles for $100,000 leaves you with $67,000 (minus expenses).

What matters most:

• Does the firm have specific experience in your case type?
• Do they have a track record of taking cases to trial when settlements are unfair?
• Are the fee and expense arrangements documented clearly in a written retainer?
• Does the sliding scale (pre-filing vs. filed vs. trial) make sense for your expected timeline?

Workers' Compensation Is Different

In Pennsylvania workers' compensation cases, attorney fees are capped at 20% of benefits recovered and must be approved by the workers' compensation judge. This is a meaningful protection for injured workers.