How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost in New York? Contingency Fees, the One Third Rule, and What Actually Comes Out of Your Settlement (2026)

How much does a personal injury lawyer cost in New York?

A personal injury lawyer in New York costs nothing out of pocket. Injury cases are handled on contingency, meaning the attorney advances the cost of the case and is paid a percentage of what is recovered, typically one third. If the case is lost, the client owes no legal fee. The consultation is free, there is no retainer deposit, and no bill arrives while the case is pending.

I want to be clear about what "free unless we win" actually means, because it is marketed loosely. It means no attorney's fee. It does not mean the case has no costs. Filing fees, medical record requests, expert reports, deposition transcripts, and accident reconstruction all cost money, and in a litigated Long Island case those disbursements commonly run from a few hundred dollars in a simple soft tissue claim to well into five figures where experts are needed. In my practice I advance those costs. The question every client should ask is what happens to them at the end, and I cover that below.

The reason the injury bar works this way is straightforward. Someone who cannot work because a driver ran a light on Jericho Turnpike cannot also write a $400 an hour retainer check. Contingency fees exist so that the ability to bring a claim does not depend on the ability to fund one. It also means my incentive and yours point the same direction, which is not true of an hourly fee.

What percentage do personal injury lawyers take in New York?

Most New York personal injury lawyers take one third, or 33 and 1/3 percent, of the recovery. That figure comes from the Appellate Division rules, not from a statute, and for Nassau and Suffolk County cases the governing rule is 22 NYCRR 691.20 in the Second Department. The rule does not simply cap fees at one third. It offers two permitted fee schedules, and the client's retainer agreement selects which one applies.

You will read on plenty of law firm websites that New York law "does not permit more than 33.33 percent" in an injury case. That is not accurate, and it matters on small cases. The rule permits either a flat percentage not exceeding one third, or a sliding scale, and on modest recoveries the sliding scale yields more than one third. It also matters in the other direction on large cases, where the sliding scale yields substantially less. If a firm hands you a retainer without explaining which schedule you are agreeing to, ask.

What are the two contingency fee schedules under 22 NYCRR 691.20?

The Second Department rule gives a client two permitted options. Schedule A is a sliding scale: 50 percent of the first $1,000 recovered, 40 percent of the next $2,000, 35 percent of the next $22,000, and 25 percent of everything above $25,000. Schedule B is a flat percentage not exceeding 33 and 1/3 percent of the recovery. Whichever schedule the retainer names is the one that governs.

The crossover sits at about $33,000. Below that, the sliding scale is the more expensive choice for the client. Above it, the sliding scale is cheaper, and the gap widens fast. On a $100,000 net recovery the client keeps roughly $5,583 more under Schedule A than under a flat one third. On a $500,000 recovery the difference is close to $39,000.

Two honest caveats. First, most New York firms, mine included, use the flat one third, because the overwhelming majority of injury cases resolve in the range where the difference is modest and clients understand one number better than four brackets. Second, no fee schedule matters if the case is handled badly. A lawyer taking 25 percent of a settlement that should have been twice the size has cost you far more than the one taking a third. Choose on judgment and attention first, and read the fee schedule second.

Also note the paperwork requirement. In the Second Department an attorney retained in a personal injury or wrongful death matter must file a retainer statement with the Office of Court Administration, and a closing statement after the case resolves. That filing is a real accountability mechanism, and any attorney should be willing to tell you it exists.

Is the fee different in a medical malpractice case?

Yes, and dramatically. Contingency fees in medical, dental, and podiatric malpractice cases are capped by statute under Judiciary Law 474-a on a descending scale: 30 percent of the first $250,000, 25 percent of the next $250,000, 20 percent of the next $500,000, 15 percent of the next $250,000, and 10 percent of anything above $1,250,000. A malpractice retainer that charges a flat one third is not enforceable.

Run the math on a $500,000 malpractice recovery. The fee is 30 percent of the first $250,000, which is $75,000, plus 25 percent of the next $250,000, which is $62,500, for a total of $137,500. That is 27.5 percent, not 33 percent. On a $2,000,000 recovery the total fee is $350,000, a blended rate of 17.5 percent. The legislature designed the scale to leave more of a catastrophic recovery with the injured person, which is exactly the case type where the injured person needs it.

The statute does allow an attorney to apply to a judge for greater compensation where the case involved extraordinary circumstances, and the court can grant it, but that requires an application and a judicial finding. It is not something a firm can simply write into a retainer. Note also that 474-a percentages are computed on the net sum recovered after deducting expenses and disbursements for expert testimony and investigative services, which in a malpractice case are substantial.

What are case expenses, and do they come out before or after the fee?

Case expenses, called disbursements, are the out of pocket costs of building the case: court filing fees, medical records, expert reports and testimony, deposition transcripts, investigators, and process servers. They are separate from the attorney's fee, and the retainer decides whether the fee percentage is calculated before or after they are subtracted. That single term can be worth thousands of dollars to you.

Take a $90,000 settlement with $15,000 in disbursements. If the fee is one third of the net, the fee is calculated on $75,000 and comes to $25,000, leaving the client $50,000. If the fee is one third of the gross, the fee is $30,000, the disbursements still come off, and the client is left with $45,000. Same case, same settlement, same expenses, and a $5,000 difference decided by one sentence in a document signed on day one.

The Second Department rule contemplates both arrangements. The net method, where expenses come off before the percentage, is the client friendly default and it is what I use. If a firm proposes the gross method, they are permitted to, but they should be able to say plainly why, and you should be able to see the number both ways before you sign. Ask for that comparison in writing. Any attorney who will not put it in writing has told you something useful.

What else comes out of my settlement besides the attorney's fee?

Liens do. Health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, workers' compensation carriers, and hospitals that treated you can all assert a right to be repaid out of your settlement, and those amounts come out of the client's share. Under the Second Department rule, liens and claims in favor of hospitals, doctors, nurses, self-insurers, and insurance carriers are specifically not deducted before the fee is calculated.

This is the part that surprises people, and it is the reason the number on the settlement sheet is never the number that reaches your bank account. If your health plan paid $22,000 for the surgery after the crash, that plan very likely has a right of reimbursement, and it has to be dealt with before the file closes. Medicare in particular has a formal conditional payment recovery process, and ignoring it is not an option for either of us.

The good news is that liens are frequently negotiable. Reducing a lien is real, unglamorous work that puts money directly in the client's pocket, and it is one of the clearest tests of whether a firm is actually working your file or just processing it. When you interview attorneys, ask what they do about liens. The answer tells you a great deal.

Do I pay a fee on my no-fault benefits?

No. In New York, attorney fees for disputed no-fault first-party benefits are set by regulation and paid by the insurance carrier, not deducted from you. Under 11 NYCRR 65-4.6 the fee is generally 20 percent of the first-party benefits and interest awarded, capped at $1,360 per applicant. Your no-fault medical benefits and lost wage payments reach you without a contingency fee taken out.

How the money actually moves, from settlement to your check

Here is the sequence every New York injury settlement follows, from resolution to the check in your hand:

1. The case settles or a verdict is entered, and the amount is fixed in writing. Nothing is distributed on a handshake.

2. A release is signed and delivered to the defendant's carrier. In New York the carrier generally has 21 days from receipt of a duly executed release to pay under CPLR 5003-a, and payment on a settlement with a municipality takes longer.

3. The settlement check arrives and is deposited into the attorney's escrow account. It is not the attorney's money and it does not sit in an operating account.

4. Disbursements are tallied and, under a net fee agreement, subtracted from the recovery before the fee percentage is applied.

5. The attorney's fee is calculated under the schedule named in your retainer, one third or the sliding scale, or under the Judiciary Law 474-a scale in a malpractice case.

6. Liens and outstanding medical balances are resolved and paid, ideally after being negotiated down.

7. A closing statement showing every one of these numbers is prepared, the client is paid the balance, and in the Second Department the closing statement is filed with the Office of Court Administration.