There was a total of 32,993 burn injuries sustained in the United States, as stated by the American Burn Injury Association in 2024. These statistics were gathered from 114 specialized burn units in thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia.
Burn injuries can produce some of the biggest medical bills you see in personal injury cases.
The resulting hospital stays, surgeries, skin grafts, wound care, and rehabilitative treatment from a burn injury can easily reach thousands of dollars. Aside from these costs, you’ve got the legal fees question, and most people with burn injury claims just aren’t really set up financially to pay an attorney on a strictly hourly basis.
What is a contingency fee & what does it mean for your case? Figuring out how the fee structure works helps burn injury victims sort through their choices with more clarity. It also helps them sidestep those annoying surprises when the settlement finally comes in.
Let’s look at the impact of undergoing a contingency payment method when dealing with burn injury cases.
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How Contingency Fees Work in Burn Injury Cases
According to Santa Ana burn injury lawyer Jose Gonzalez, when a lawyer agrees to handle your case on a contingency fee basis, this means they will be paid only if the case is resolved in your favor. If the matter doesn’t result in a settlement or verdict, the client typically doesn’t owe an attorney’s fee. But if it does, the attorney takes a pre-agreed percentage of the money that’s recovered.
For most personal injury matters, including burn injury claims, the typical contingency rate falls somewhere around 33.3 percent for settlements that happen before a lawsuit is filed. The rate can be around 40 percent once things move forward through litigation.
In certain more complicated scenarios, especially those that end up going to trial or continuing through appeal, the rate may climb into the 40 to 45 percent range. These numbers tend to be industry standard, well documented, and aligned with recommendations from state bar associations across the country.
A writing is a requirement for every contingency fee agreement.
The written agreement will normally have to specify the percentage the attorney receives, who is responsible for the costs and expenses of the case, and what happens if the client terminates the attorney’s services before the case is completed. One should carefully read the drafted agreement before signing.
The Difference Between Attorney Fees and Case Costs
This distinction surprises clients the most, and understanding it before the case begins helps prevent confusion at the end.
Attorney fees refer to the percentage paid to the lawyer for their time, expertise, and representation. Case costs are separate expenses and pertain to the out-of-pocket expenses needed to prosecute the case. For burn injury cases, the process tends to be more cost-intensive since proving liability and damages usually means you need expert testimony.
Common case expenses in burn injury litigation
- Gathering the medical records from hospitals and treating providers
- Payments for expert witnesses, like burn specialists, plastic surgeons, and occupational therapists, who explain how severe the injury is, and what kind of care may be needed later
- Accident reconstruction experts, if where the burn came from is really being disputed
- Court filing fees, and also the cost for serving process
- Deposition expenses, including court reporters, plus transcripts
- Getting trial exhibits ready
Expert witnesses alone can run about $5,000 to $15,000 for each person in complex matters.
And if a burn injury case turns into a full trial, the overall expenses can stack up to $20,000 to $50,000 or even more, depending on what comes up.
Usually, contingency fee firms advance these costs for the client, then recoup them out of the settlement at the end. Some firms might absorb the case costs if everything is lost, but others ask the client to cover costs either way. The agreement spells out this whole thing, so read that clause carefully before you sign.
How Settlements Are Actually Distributed: The Math
Most clients end up staring at the gross settlement number, which is the full amount the other side agrees to pay. What they actually get is the net figure after certain amounts are removed.
Here is a sample distribution plan for a 200,000 dollar burn injury case settlement after a 33.3 percent legal fee of contingency, with an additional 15,000 dollars in case costs and a minimum 25,000 dollars in medical coverage:
- Gross settlement: $200,000
- Attorney fee (33.3% of gross): $66,600
- Case expenses reimbursed: $15,000
- Medical liens: $25,000
- Net client recovery: $93,400
Most contingency agreements set the attorney fee using the gross settlement. A smaller number of agreements calculate the fee using the net amount after costs. So for a $200,000 settlement with $15,000 in expenses, the difference can be the fee applied to the $15,000 share, which is roughly $5,000 using a 33 percent rate.
Don’t be afraid to ask your attorney which approach is used and confirm it in the written agreement.
Medical Liens: The Third Deduction Most Clients Do Not Expect
Medical liens are claims against your settlement, put in place by Medicare, Medicaid, or the medical providers who funded your treatment. They’re not the same as attorney fees, and they’re also not the same as case expenses. Practically, they have their separate obligation that must be handled before you actually see your net proceeds.
In more serious burn injury situations, which may involve long-term hospitalization, a string of surgeries, and extended wound care, it’s common for medical liens to be pretty hefty. A burn injury attorney who actually does this type of work often will negotiate the liens in an aggressive manner.
The attorney will try to lower the amount the lienholder will accept, which can help increase what the client ends up receiving. Negotiating medical liens is one of the most important ways a skilled lawyer can add real value to a burn injury case.
If your care was paid through Medicare or Medicaid, federal law puts on mandatory reimbursement duties that have to be taken care of before the client gets any money. Failing to resolve an outstanding Medicare or Medicaid lien can result in personal liability.
Gross vs. Net Recovery: Why Represented Clients Still Come Out Ahead
One concern of burn injury victims is if the contingency fee drags down their recovery so much that self-representation or even direct negotiation with an insurer would somehow come out better.
According to the research conducted by the Insurance Research Council, people who sought legal assistance objectively received settlements that were on average 3.5 times more than those that had been settled outside the justice system.
In severe burn cases, where the attorney’s fees can range from as low as 33 to 40 percent of the final recovery sum, the claimants with legal representatives tend to receive more money compared to those who did not have an attorney.
Insurance companies handling burn injury claims often rely on adjusters and legal teams, and their job is to minimize payouts. In that setup, the contingency fee approach places a burn injury attorney’s financial interest in strong alignment with the client’s. Both of them benefit when the recovery is larger, and neither really benefits if the case doesn’t resolve favorably.
Contingency fees are not that complicated, but the details matter a lot. The percentage charged, whether based on gross or net, how case expenses are handled, and what happens with medical liens at the end of the case can all change what a burn injury victim receives.
Burn injury litigation tends to involve serious costs and complicated damages. The expert witnesses will need to demonstrate how severe the injury is. A medical record review is required to prove causation. Long-range cost estimates for future care all consume both money and professional effort that most people simply can’t arrange on their own.
So the contingency fee arrangement becomes the tool that opens access to those resources without forcing upfront payment.
Read the fee agreement before you sign it. Specifically ask how case expenses are handled if the case is lost. Also confirm whether the fee is calculated on gross or net. Initiating these questions will tell you the main things you need to know.
