Most Oklahoma personal injury lawyers, including Hasbrook & Hasbrook, work on a contingency fee: you pay no attorney fee unless your case recovers money. Fees typically run between 33% and 40% of the settlement or verdict, depending on the case’s complexity and whether it goes to trial. Case costs and expenses are usually billed separately.
That contingency arrangement applies to nearly every kind of claim our firm handles, from car and motorcycle wrecks to premises liability, dog bites, and wrongful death cases. Where a specific case lands within that 33% to 40% range, and what pushes it higher or lower, depends on a handful of concrete factors this page walks through.
Personal Injury Lawyer Fees: The Contingency Fee Basics
A contingency fee comes out of what you recover, not out of your pocket while the case is open. You do not pay a retainer up front, and you do not receive an hourly bill. Cornell Law School’s Wex legal dictionary catalogs this as one of the standard fee arrangements in American civil litigation, though the exact percentage and rules vary by state. If there is no settlement or verdict, you owe no attorney fee at all. That fee-basis approach is standard across Oklahoma personal injury practice, not an arrangement unique to one law firm. For the full mechanics of what “no win, no fee” promises and what counts as a cost instead of a fee, see our answers to the most common contingency-fee questions.
Typical Percentages, and Oklahoma’s Legal Cap on Contingency Fees
Most personal injury lawyers in Oklahoma charge a contingency fee of 33% to 40% of whatever is recovered. Fees toward the lower end are common when a case resolves early, while fees closer to 40% are more common once a lawsuit is filed and the case moves toward trial. That percentage has a hard ceiling under Oklahoma law: 5 O.S. § 7 caps a personal injury attorney’s contingency fee at fifty percent (50%) of the net amount recovered by settlement or judgment, a limit that has stood since 1910. In practice, almost no Oklahoma personal injury lawyer charges anywhere near that ceiling. The statute sets the outer legal limit; 33% to 40% is what firms, including ours, actually charge.
Case Costs Are Not the Same as the Attorney’s Fee
The percentage above covers the lawyer’s own payment. It is a separate thing from case costs, the out-of-pocket expenses of building the claim itself: filing fees, deposition costs, medical record requests, and expert witness fees. Many Oklahoma personal injury attorneys, including ours, advance those costs and recover them from the settlement alongside the fee, though practices vary by firm, and it is worth asking directly how yours works. For the full breakdown of what filing a lawsuit itself costs in Oklahoma City, see the separate expense breakdown once a case heads to court. If your claim is specifically a car accident, the fee breakdown specific to car accident claims covers a few details unique to that claim type.
What Drives Your Fee Percentage Up or Down
Within the 33% to 40% range, several concrete factors decide where a specific case lands.
How Complex and How Long the Case Runs
A straightforward crash with clear liability and modest medical bills tends to resolve faster and at a lower point in the fee range. A case with disputed fault, multiple defendants, or catastrophic injuries takes substantially more attorney time gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and negotiating with the insurance company, and that additional work is part of why the percentage can run higher. Proving fault in a contested case means building a complete evidentiary record, and a case that drags on for a year or more because liability is disputed is simply a different amount of work than one that resolves in a few months.
Expert Witnesses and Investigation
Cases that need an accident reconstructionist, a medical expert, or a dedicated investigation cost more to build and take longer to resolve. A doctor willing to testify about how an injury will affect someone for the rest of their life, or an engineer who can explain exactly how a crash happened, can change the outcome in a disputed case. That added effort is reflected in both the case expenses and, often, in where the fee lands within the range.
Whether the Case Settles or Goes to Trial
Most personal injury cases in Oklahoma settle before trial. Settling is generally faster for both sides and avoids the expense of preparing for a jury. When a case does go to trial, the additional work of drafting motions, preparing witnesses, and presenting evidence to a jury is part of why trial cases often land at the higher end of the fee range.
How the Insurance Company on the Other Side Handles the Claim
Some insurers evaluate a claim fairly and make a reasonable offer early. Others dispute liability, delay, or make an offer well below what the medical bills and lost income actually support, which forces the case into litigation to get a fair result. A slow or combative adjuster on the other side adds real attorney hours to a case that would otherwise have been straightforward, and that shows up in both the timeline and, sometimes, the fee.
The Lawyer’s Experience and Track Record
An attorney with a strong record of taking cases to verdict when an insurer will not offer a fair number brings more leverage to every negotiation, even in a case that ultimately settles. That leverage is part of what you are paying for with the fee, not just the paperwork of getting a case filed.
Why the Contingency Model Benefits Injured Clients
Most people cannot afford to pay a personal injury attorney by the hour while they are also facing medical bills and lost income. A few things follow from a fee structure built around that reality:
- No upfront cost. You do not pay to start a case, and you owe nothing for attorney time if there is no recovery.
- The lawyer’s incentive matches yours. The attorney is paid more only when you recover more, not for hours logged.
- Representation stays accessible regardless of income. A single parent and a small business owner can hire the same caliber of law firm for the same type of claim, since the fee structure does not depend on what either can pay out of pocket today.
Cost is only one part of choosing a lawyer, though. What to weigh beyond the fee percentage when comparing attorneys covers trial experience, caseload, and communication, the factors that matter once you have confirmed the fee arrangement is a standard one. Comparing a few firms is worth doing, but why shopping around still has a deadline attached is worth reading first, since Oklahoma’s filing window does not pause while you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Lawyer Fees
Is a lawyer who charges a higher percentage automatically better?
No. Fee percentage alone does not indicate skill or results. A lawyer’s willingness to try a case, their experience with claims like yours, and how clearly they communicate matter more than a percentage point or two.
Do contingency fees work the same way for wrongful death claims?
Yes. Wrongful death cases are handled on the same contingency basis as other personal injury claims in Oklahoma: the percentage still depends on how far the case goes, and the same statutory cap applies. The claims themselves involve different damages and different people with standing to sue, but the fee structure does not change.
Does a larger expected recovery automatically mean a lower percentage?
Not automatically. Some firms tier their percentage by case stage rather than by dollar value, so a large but straightforward claim and a smaller but heavily litigated one can land at similar percentages. Ask your specific firm how its fee scales, since the answer varies.
Hasbrook & Hasbrook has represented injured Oklahomans on a contingency fee basis since 2000, and the attorney who has practiced on a contingency basis since his 2008 bar admission personally reviews new personal injury claims. If you want to know what your specific case would likely cost before you commit to anything, talk with our office about your fee questions before you sign with anyone.
