How Much of My Personal Injury Settlement Do I Get to Keep?

How much of my personal injury settlement do I get to keep? Being injured because of someone else’s negligence can be confusing and scary. While you’re glad they can be held accountable and you can be compensated for your injuries, you didn’t know filing an injury claim meant you didn’t get to keep all of the money. Honest and experienced personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law work to keep as much money in your pocket as possible.

In times of uncertainty, it’s best to ask the experts. Read on to find out how much of your personal injury settlement you get to keep. If you have any questions about your claim, discuss your case with a personal injury lawyer for free by calling Burger Law at or contacting us online.

Determining the Total Value of Your Personal Injury Claim

Generally, personal injury settlements are made up of two types of damages:

Economic damages compensate you for your financial losses, like medical bills, lost wages and property damage.
Non-economic damages compensate you the less tangible ways your injuries affected you, like mental anguish, pain and suffering or permanent scarring.

The factors that can influence how much your claim is worth include:

The severity and extent of your injuries
If you had any pre-existing injuries
Whether you require ongoing medical treatment
How your injuries impact your ability to earn a living
How your injuries have impacted your ability to enjoy life
If you share partial fault for your injuries
Who is liable for your injuries
The insurance coverage available

It’s impossible to say what the value of your case may be without knowing any specifics. The best thing to do is call a personal injury lawyer that’s handled your type of case before. Below are some helpful links about how much your claim may be worth:

Personal injury settlements are about fairness. They’re intended to make you whole again after injuries that weren’t your fault. In the interest of fairness, anyone who professionally helped you get your settlement and treat your injuries also deserves payment for their assistance. That money typically gets taken out of your final settlement.

What Money Gets Taken Out of My Personal Injury Settlement?

Once you agree to a settlement offer with the insurance company, you’ll generally have to pay the costs it took to win your claim and the cost of your medical treatment.

Attorneys’ Fees

Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee, meaning they take a percentage of their final payout as payment – only after and if they win your case. The contingency fee arrangement benefits the injured by allowing them access to the highest-quality legal advocacy regardless of their financial situation, and by assuring them that the attorney really believes in the case.

The percentage your personal injury lawyer takes is usually based on the complexity of the case and level of effort involved, and is agreed to before the attorney starts working on the case. Typical contingency percentages include:

25% — Your attorney may agree to a relatively low fee if the case is relatively simple, meaning liability is clear, the evidence is solid and the claim only requires a little bit of negotiation. As these cases are fairly simple and relatively low-risk, 25% may be considered fair. In workers’ compensation claims, some states allow a maximum 25% attorney fee.
33% — These cases require more legwork, including taking depositions, finding expert witnesses, and conducting a full investigation into the facts of your case and applicable laws. The injuries may be severe and require ongoing treatment. As the work is more difficult, and the risk of not getting a high settlement is higher, attorneys generally require a higher percentage.
40% — These cases might involve permanent injuries, highly disputed liability and a high chance of going to trial, requiring extensive litigation, a discovery phase and a significant investment of time and resources.
Sliding scale — Your attorney may offer to work with you on a “sliding scale.” With this arrangement, the contingency fee will be raised as your case requires more work. For example, your personal injury lawyer might agree to a 25% fee if they only have to write a few letters back and forth to the insurance adjuster. It might raise to 33% if they have to file a lawsuit, and up to 40% if the case goes to trial.

While attorneys’ fees technically take money out of your settlement, most people would never be able to get the great results they do with the help of a personal injury lawyer. Because of the contingency fee structure, lawyers have no reason to take on your case unless they think it adds significant value to it.

Court Fees, Costs and Expenses

It costs money to request and gather evidence and file lawsuits. While your personal injury attorney will handle all of the legal work for you, you typically have to pay for any associated costs. Most lawyers will pay for those themselves as they arise and request payment once you get your compensation. The more complex cases typically involve the higher costs. Depending on the specifics of your case, you may have to pay for:

Requesting medical records
Copying medical records, police reports and other documents
Expert witness and investigator fees
Court filing fees
Deposition or mediation fees
Transcripts or other official documents
Exhibits of evidence for trial or settlement demand packages

These expenses can generally range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.

Medical Expenses and Medical Liens

Your settlement will include compensation for all of your medical expenses. Anything you paid for out of pocket, such as medication, will be reimbursed to you. Treatment covered by anyone else, such as your health insurance or a doctor, will be reimbursed to the entity that paid it. When an insurance company or healthcare provider pays for your treatment – or agrees to treat you without payment – they can assert a lien, which is their legal right to part of your compensation.

There are a number of ways to resolve liens, and the best personal injury lawyers will reduce them as much as possible to keep as much money in your pocket as they can. Liens have to be asserted with a written letter, so we’ll evaluate that letter and determine if the provider’s lien is actually legal. Many more experienced attorneys (such as those at Burger Law) have built relationships with healthcare providers who treat on a lien basis and work to lower your costs as much as possible.

Taxes

Personal injury settlements are one of the few time where you can get a lot of money and the federal government can’t take any of it. You generally don’t have to pay taxes on a personal injury settlement, but there are a few exceptions:

If you were compensated for lost wages, you have to report the compensation directly related to your wage loss damages as income. So, if you receive a $20,000 settlement and $3,000 of that was lost wages, you would have to report $3,000 on your taxes.
If your compensation for property damage was higher than the amount it took to fix or replace your property, you have to report the difference as income. So if the insurance company gave you $4,000 to fix your car and it only cost $3,500, you have to report $500 on your taxes.
Punitive damages, which are rarely awarded, must be reported as “Other Income” on Form 1040.

Many personal injury plaintiffs don’t have to pay taxes at all, and the ones that do generally pay very little compared to the rest of their settlement.

So, How Much Money to I Get to Keep From My Injury Settlement?

After subtracting attorneys’ fees, legal costs, medical liens and possibly taxes, the rest of the money is yours to keep. The good news is that everything is covered in writing. Fees to the attorney will be based on your contract, and medical liens have to be asserted written with an explanation of why they’re requesting the money they are. If they’re asking for too much or don’t actually have a right to your compensation, your personal injury lawyer won’t let them illegally keep money from you.

An Example Settlement With Money Taken Out

Let’s say you were injured in a car accident. After an emergency room visit, you have several months of chiropractor appointments to treat your whiplash injury. You lost out on a week of work while recovering, about $750. After starting the process to file a lawsuit and beginning depositions, your personal injury lawyer negotiates a policy limits settlement of $100,000.

Total Settlement — $100,000
Attorneys’ Fees — $33,333
Requesting Medical Records — $150
Taking Depositions — $450
Medical Liens — $8,000
Taxes on $750 of Lost Wages — $110
The Amount You Take Home — $58,177

It’s impossible to promise any specific amount of money, or to know the value of your claim and how much may be taken out without knowing the specifics of your injuries and the accident that caused them. It’s important to fine a personal injury lawyer who’s transparent and honest about their fee structure and how much money they can put in your pocket.

Missouri and Illinois Personal Injury Lawyers | Burger Law

Your personal injury lawyer should be your complete advocate. That includes leaving as much money in your pocket as possible. At Burger Law, we fight hard for our clients and make sure that we don’t leave any money on the table for them. If you’ve been injured through no fault of your own, call Burger Law today at or fill out our online form for a free consultation.

Gary Burger

Founder | Injury Attorney
Gary Burger has dedicated his career to standing up against bullies. The founder and principal attorney of Burger Law | St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer has helped hundreds of Missouri and Illinois individuals and families recover th …
Years of experience: 30 years
Location: St. Louis, MO

Chat With Us