The core promise: no recovery, no fee
A contingency fee means the attorney's fee is contingent — dependent — on actually winning or settling the case. If there's no recovery at all, the client generally owes no attorney fee, regardless of how much work went into the case. This holds true across every type of California personal injury case.
Outside medical malpractice: a negotiated rate
For an ordinary personal injury claim — a car accident, a slip and fall — California sets no statutory percentage at all. The rate is whatever the attorney and client agree to, with 33.3% being the common market figure.
Inside medical malpractice: the rate is actually written into law
This is where California genuinely differs. Business and Professions Code § 6146 sets the fee by the stage at which the case resolves: 25% of the recovery if it settles before a civil complaint or arbitration demand is filed, and 33% if it settles after. The agreement itself can't set a higher rate unless the case actually goes to trial or arbitration, in which case the attorney can ask the court for a higher fee — the court decides based on evidence of good cause.
Why the stage matters so much here
Because the percentage is tied directly to whether a complaint or arbitration demand has been filed, the exact date a case settles can genuinely change what the law allows the attorney to charge — a detail worth understanding if you're weighing a pre-suit settlement offer against continuing to litigate.
It's a negotiated agreement everywhere else
Outside medical malpractice, the fee remains entirely a matter of private negotiation between attorney and client — worth discussing explicitly before representation begins, since there's no statutory floor or ceiling guiding the conversation.