Most personal injury attorneys, including those who handle medical negligence cases, charge a contingency fee based on what a case is worth.  You pay nothing up front, but at the end of your case, you share a percentage or portion of what you get at trial (or in settlement) with your attorney.  For most personal injury cases, the contingency fee is around 33 percent, but it can be less in specific cases.  If you lose your contingency case, there is no fee.

In Illinois, there is a law that puts a cap on contingency fee in medical malpractice lawsuits.  This is not the case in all types of injury cases.  The law is changing, but there will still be a limit on attorney fees in this area.  Up until now, Illinois law said that attorneys in medical malpractice lawsuits could charge 33 percent of the first $150,000 of an award, 25 percent of the next $850,000, and 20 percent of anything above $1 million.  The law has included an exception allowing attorneys to petition the court for higher fees in certain situations.  Basically, a lawyer could argue that a particular case warranted a higher fee, a request that was then left up to the judge.

A new Illinois law will simplify the limit on attorney fees and eliminate the exception.  The new law says that attorneys in medical malpractice cases can charge a contingency fee up to 33 percent.  There is not a varied fee schedule as there was before.  The new law essentially raises the limit but does not include a provision allowing attorneys to petition the court for higher fees in certain situations.  So it would appear that 33 percent is the true cap in this new law.  The Illinois senate and house have approved the law, and it is expected to be signed by Gov. Quinn.