7 Questions You Should Ask A Personal Injury Attorney

You have a consultation with a personal injury lawyer coming up and want to know what to ask, and how to tell a straight answer from a sales pitch. If that feels intimidating, that’s normal. The short answer: ask how the fee works in dollars, what you’d owe if you lose, how many cases like yours the lawyer has handled, who will work on your case, who decides whether to settle, and what the lawyer honestly thinks of your case, including its weak spots and your deadline. Good answers are specific, with the money terms in writing. A guarantee, pressure to sign or a vague answer about the fee is a red flag.

The claims process runs on terms most people never see until they’re hurt, and the insurer on the other side handles claims like yours every day. So ask every lawyer the same questions and write down the answers. Michigan’s rules are in the boxes marked “In Michigan.” For what to bring, see how to prepare for your first meeting with an injury lawyer.

Hurt and not sure where you stand? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.

What should you ask about fees and costs?

Injury lawyers often work on a contingency fee: a percentage of what’s recovered for you, and generally no fee if nothing is. The fee can also depend on how far the case goes (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). The full math is in how personal injury lawyers get paid.

How do you charge, and what percentage would you take?

• A good answer: The exact percentage, whether it rises if a lawsuit is filed or the case goes to trial or appeal, and an offer to put it in writing.
• Red flags: No number, or no word on what it’s taken from. In a Michigan injury case, any fee above one-third of the recovery after costs (MCR 8.121).

Is the percentage taken before or after case costs?

Case costs are the expenses of pursuing the claim, such as filing fees, copies of medical records and expert witnesses. A made-up example: a $90,000 settlement with $6,000 in costs. Repay the costs first, and a one-third fee is $28,000, leaving you $56,000 before any liens (repayment claims). Take the fee from the full $90,000, and it’s $30,000, leaving you $54,000 after costs.

• A good answer: A clear answer, written into the agreement. “After” leaves you more.
• Red flags: An answer that changes when you ask again, or an agreement that doesn’t say how the fee is figured.

What costs do you expect, and would I owe them if we lose?

A lawyer may advance case costs and be repaid from the recovery. After a loss, it depends on your agreement and your state: the Florida Bar tells clients they’ll owe costs unless the contract says otherwise. In Michigan, repaying advanced costs is ultimately the client’s responsibility, though a lawyer may pay them for an indigent client (MRPC 1.8(e)).

• A good answer: A rough estimate, a heads-up before big costs such as experts, and a written answer on what you’d owe after a loss.
• Red flags: No estimate, or a spoken “you’ll never owe costs” that the agreement doesn’t back up.

Can I take the fee agreement home before I sign?

Michigan’s ethics rules require a contingency fee agreement to be in writing and to state how the fee is figured (MRPC 1.5(c)). The State Bar of Michigan’s hiring guide says to read it carefully, ask questions before you sign and keep a signed copy.

• A good answer: “Of course,” and a walk through each part without rushing you.
• Red flags: Pressure to sign today; blank spaces; a clause limiting your right to fire the lawyer or to settle (the comment to Michigan’s Rule 1.2 says a client may not be asked to give up either right); or a clause letting the firm endorse your settlement check, which the State Bar advises caution about.

How will liens be paid, and will I get a written breakdown?

If a health plan, Medicare or another insurer paid your medical bills, ask whether it must be repaid from a settlement. In Michigan, at the end of a contingency fee case, the lawyer must give you a written statement of the outcome and, if there’s a recovery, show what you receive and how it was figured (MRPC 1.5(c)).

• A good answer: A plan to find and negotiate liens early, and a written estimate of your take-home before you decide on an offer. See who gets paid from your settlement.
• Red flags: No mention of liens until the money arrives.

What should you ask about experience and results?

How many cases like mine have you handled, and how many went to trial?

The State Bar of Michigan suggests asking about experience with matters like yours and years in practice, noting that a lawyer can’t share other clients’ confidential information.

• A good answer: Rough numbers for your type of case in recent years, how they ended, how many reached a verdict, and who would try yours.
• Red flags: Only general talk about “personal injury,” an unexplained “specialist” label (Michigan doesn’t certify lawyers as specialists, the State Bar notes), or learning later that someone else would try your case.

What do the results on your website mean for a case like mine?

A results page shows what a firm chooses to publish, and Michigan’s ethics rules bar lawyer communications “likely to create an unjustified expectation about results the lawyer can achieve” (MRPC 7.1(b)). Ask whether a result like your case was a verdict or a settlement, what the client took home after the fee, costs and liens, and whether it’s typical.

• A good answer: Plain answers, within the limits of confidentiality, and a reminder that your case turns on its own facts.
• Red flags: A hint that your case will turn out the same, or a headline that’s really a payout spread over years or a group settlement. See what a lawyer’s verdicts and settlements tell you.

Is your license active, have you been disciplined, and do you carry malpractice insurance?

The State Bar of Michigan’s hiring guide suggests asking about discipline and malpractice insurance, which it notes Michigan doesn’t require.

• A good answer: An active license, a straight account of any discipline, and a clear yes or no on insurance.
• Red flags: Hesitation, or a public record the lawyer didn’t mention.

Then check for yourself in the state where your case would be filed, since each state sets its own requirements for admitting lawyers (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute).

Not sure how your own case measures up? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.

What should you ask about who handles your case?

Who will work on my case, and how will you keep me updated?

The State Bar of Michigan suggests asking who in the firm will work on each phase, such as drafting papers, court appearances and trial, and asking for copies of letters and court papers. A lawyer must keep you reasonably informed and promptly answer reasonable requests for information (in Michigan, MRPC 1.4(a)).

• A good answer: The lawyer responsible for your case, who else will work on it, a named contact, how often you’ll hear and copies of key papers.
• Red flags: No lawyer’s name, calls unreturned before you’ve even signed, or learning later that the lawyer you met won’t be on your case.

Will another firm work on my case or share the fee?

Some lawyers refer cases to another firm, or bring one in for trial, and split the fee. In Michigan, lawyers in different firms may split a fee only if you’re told about every lawyer involved and don’t object, and the total fee is reasonable (MRPC 1.5(e)). It’s one fee, not an extra charge (MRPC 1.5, comment), and in an injury case it stays within the one-third cap (MCR 8.121(A), (B)).

• A good answer: A clear yes or no, and if yes, which firm and what it would do.
• Red flags: Learning about another firm only after you’ve signed.

Who decides whether to settle, and will you tell me about every offer?

It should be you. In Michigan, a lawyer must follow the client’s decision on whether to accept a settlement offer, and promptly tell the client about every settlement offer and case evaluation (MRPC 1.2(a), 1.4(a)). A case evaluation is a court step in which a three-person panel values the claims (MCR 2.403).

• A good answer: “You do,” plus a promise to bring you every offer promptly, explain it and give an honest recommendation.
• Red flags: “Leave the offers to me,” or any hint that the lawyer decides.

What should you ask about your own case?

What are the strengths and weak spots of my case?

A lawyer must explain enough for you to make informed decisions (in Michigan, MRPC 1.4(b)), and a good lawyer may tell you things you don’t want to hear, such as that you don’t have a case, the State Bar notes.

• A good answer: What the evidence shows, what’s missing, and how the other side might argue that you share the blame or that something else caused your injury.
• Red flags: “No weak spots,” or big promises before the lawyer has seen your records.

What could my case be worth, and what would I take home?

No lawyer can guarantee a particular result, as the State Bar’s guide reminds clients. Early on, “it’s too soon to say” can be honest, and the other side’s insurer will reach its own number (see how insurance companies evaluate injury claims).

• A good answer: A rough range, if any, with reasons (your injuries and treatment, how clear the fault is, the insurance available) and your likely take-home after the fee, costs and liens. See what your injury case may be worth.
• Red flags: A big, confident number at the first meeting, or anything that sounds like a promise.

What’s my deadline, and is anything due sooner?

Every state sets a deadline to sue, and some claims need written notice much sooner. See personal injury deadlines in every state.

• A good answer: A specific date or the rule that sets it, any earlier notice deadline, and a plan for each.
• Red flags: Not knowing, or “we have plenty of time” with no date.

What happens next, and how long could it take?

The State Bar suggests asking how long your matter will take, remembering that things can change it. See what a personal injury lawyer does, step by step and how long an injury case takes.

• A good answer: The next few steps, a rough range and what could slow things down, such as unfinished treatment.
• Red flags: A promise of a quick payout.

What to do next

1. Get medical care and keep every record.
2. Find two or three lawyers to talk to. Get a free case review, build a shortlist with how to choose the right lawyer for your case, or, in Michigan, compare injury firms near you.
3. Ask each one these questions, write down the answers, and check each license and discipline record.
4. Decide with the fee in writing, comparing agreements by what you’d keep.
5. Still deciding, or turned down? See whether you need a personal injury lawyer and why a lawyer may turn down an injury case.

What waiting can cost

• Your right to sue. A lawsuit filed after the deadline can be dismissed, however strong the case (in Michigan, MCL 600.5805(1)).
• Benefits with early notice deadlines, such as Michigan’s one-year notice for no-fault benefits (MCL 500.3145(1)).
• Evidence. Video gets recorded over, and witnesses move or forget.

What a good outcome looks like

You chose a lawyer whose license and record you checked, who has handled cases like yours and named who would do the work. You know the fee in dollars, what you’d owe after a loss and your deadlines, and every settlement decision is yours. You go from sitting down with a lawyer unsure what to ask to knowing what good answers sound like, and choosing a lawyer who gave them.

Updated September 28, 2026

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.