Most personal injury lawyers in Missouri are paid on contingency, which means you do not pay anything up front and the fee comes out of a recovery. The details matter, though, and they are worth understanding before you sign.
Updated October 2026
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A contingency fee means the lawyer is paid a percentage of what is recovered, and nothing if there is no recovery. It is how most injured people can afford a lawyer at all, and it means the lawyer has a stake in the result.
But two things sound the same and are not: the fee and the case expenses. Understanding the difference, and how each is calculated, is the most useful thing you can do before signing.
A contingency fee is a share of the amount recovered. Fee agreements differ, including in whether the percentage changes as the case advances, for example if a lawsuit is filed or the case goes to trial. Ask what applies and get it in writing.
Expenses are the costs of building the case, such as medical records, filing fees, experts, and depositions. Ask whether they are paid back out of the recovery and whether they come out before or after the fee is calculated, because that changes what you receive.
Ask what happens to expenses if the case does not succeed. Some firms absorb them and some do not. The fee agreement should say.
Health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, and medical providers can have a right to be repaid from a recovery. A good lawyer works to reduce those amounts, and you should ask how they will be handled.
A lower fee on a lower result can leave you with less than a higher fee on a better one. In one of our cases, an insurer offered $14,937 to a grandmother with permanent neck pain. A jury returned $2.5 million.
What matters is what ends up in your pocket, and that is driven mostly by how well the case is built and whether the firm will try it.
Past results do not guarantee a future outcome, and every case depends on its own facts. These are public-record results.
An active grandmother was left with permanent chronic neck pain. The insurer blamed her age and offered $14,937. The jury returned $2.5 million. Read full story →
The insurance company said the wrist fracture had healed. A unanimous jury disagreed in 15 minutes, at more than 10 times the last offer. Read full story →
Rear-ended on I-270 and left needing a cervical disc replacement. Built on a life care plan documenting his future medical needs. Read full story →
A contingent fee agreement should be in writing. Take it home if you want time to read it.
Look for whether it increases if a lawsuit is filed or the case is tried.
Look for whether they are repaid from the recovery, before or after the fee, and what happens if there is no recovery.
Ask the lawyer to show you, with sample numbers, what you would receive from a recovery after the fee, expenses, and liens.
Most are paid on contingency, which means no fee unless there is a recovery. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, and the percentage varies by firm and sometimes by the stage of the case. Ask for the fee agreement in writing and read it before you sign.
Not usually. Contingency fee firms generally do not charge up front, and case expenses are typically advanced by the firm. The fee agreement should state exactly how expenses are handled.
The fee is the lawyer's payment, usually a percentage of the recovery. Expenses are the costs of building the case, such as records, filing fees, and expert witnesses. They are separate, and how they are deducted affects what you receive.
It depends on the agreement. In a typical contingency arrangement you owe no fee if there is no recovery, but firms differ on whether you owe expenses. Ask before you sign.
Medical liens and reimbursements are generally paid from the recovery along with the fee and expenses. The order and the amounts matter, and a good lawyer will work to reduce what is owed. Ask for a sample breakdown.
We handle serious injury and wrongful death cases on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless we recover for you. The case review is free, and an attorney personally reviews every case. We will explain the fee agreement in detail before you sign anything.
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