Are Indianapolis Car Accident Lawyer Fees Included in a Car Accident Lawsuit?

November 6, 2025

Whether it takes place on a one-way street or a multi-lane highway like I-65, an Indianapolis car accident can inflict punishing injuries necessitating prolonged treatment that could stretch your finances to the breaking point. Fortunately, assistance may be available if you file suit or simply pursue a claim against every party responsible for your crash, and a skilled attorney can increase the amount you obtain, but are Indianapolis car accident lawyer fees included in a car accident lawsuit? Join us as we explain the standard fee structure for auto injury litigation.

How a Contingency Fee Works

It’s natural not to want to commit to more expenditures when you have spent a great deal already, as is frequently the case in the days, weeks, or months following a catastrophic car accident. Consequently, you may be hesitant to reach out to an attorney who could help you with a personal injury claim or lawsuit, perhaps because you’re worried about the kinds of exorbitant fees capable of supporting the massive offices featured on TV legal dramas.

Yet the truth is that most car accident lawyers – including the ones at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998 – operate on a contingency basis. This means that their fees are dependent or “contingent” upon the outcome of each case.

How exactly does this work in practice? Unlike, say, a tax attorney, who might bill you by the hour and maybe demand an initial retainer fee on top of that, a lawyer retained on contingency won’t charge you anything up front and might pick up some of the preliminary costs associated with your case too.

Indeed, without money changing hands, your attorney will launch an investigation to unearth the root causes of your Indianapolis car accident and the defendants who contributed to it. Next, your lawyer will establish valid claims against them within the time allotted by law, typically by sending them formal notification in writing and alerting any known insurance companies with applicable coverage.

A claim is very often a sufficient means of economic recovery after a car accident. In fact, the vast majority of these matters are concluded outside of the courtroom, though a lawsuit can be filed as well in a court with the power to issue a binding judgment if the situation warrants it. Yet regardless of what legal mechanism is selected, your attorney will satisfy the requirements and then amass the evidence needed to back up any allegations you make, such as:

Police reports
Citations and dispositions
Eyewitness accounts
Photos and videos
Black box data
Phone records
Driving histories
Maintenance logs
Forensic analysis and accident reconstruction

And once a rock-solid case has been put together, a tenacious Indianapolis car accident lawyer will strive to get you fully compensated for your losses, either through a negotiated settlement or a verdict at trial. Only when this is achieved will reimbursement be sought for the expenses incurred and fees for the legal services rendered, usually as a percentage of your final settlement or verdict.

How Car Accident Lawyer Fees Are Indirectly Included

A contingency fee arrangement can be a mutually beneficial system that provides you with a number of significant advantages. For instance, it can spare you from taking on any more fiscal and emotional burdens during a particularly burdensome period, and it can create an added incentive to maximize the value of your case, since the more you get paid, the more your attorney will get paid.

In that sense, car accident lawyer fees are indirectly included in a lawsuit like this, even if they aren’t among the line items normally taken into consideration when determining fair compensation, like:

Past, present, and future medical bills
Lost wages
Diminished long-term earning capacity
Pain and suffering
Psychological trauma
Mobility restrictions
Scarring and disfigurement
Reduced quality of living
Loss of consortium

As you can see, nothing in that list is specifically set aside for legal fees, since those aren’t damages you might sustain because of an accident. However, you are statistically likely to receive 3.5 times more on average for your damages if you partner with an attorney, a surplus that could allow you to pay the fees in question and still walk away with more in your pocket.

Get in Touch with Our Indianapolis Car Accident Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been fiercely advocating for the innocent victims of negligence for over a quarter century. If your world has been turned upside down by a serious car accident in the Indianapolis area, get in touch with our Indianapolis car accident lawyers to learn how they can set things right again.

You can schedule a free consultation with an accomplished Indianapolis car accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form now.