No cap outside medical malpractice
For an ordinary personal injury claim, Indiana imposes no statutory cap on the contingency fee percentage — the fee is set by private agreement, subject to Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5's general reasonableness standard. 33.3%, or one-third, is a commonly used figure.
Medical malpractice: a genuine split-fee structure
Here's where Indiana is genuinely distinctive: the fee is capped differently depending on where the money comes from. The portion recovered directly from the qualified health care provider, up to that provider's $500,000 liability limit, carries no specific statutory fee cap — just ordinary reasonableness. But IC 34-18-18-1 caps the attorney's fee on anything recovered from the state's Patient's Compensation Fund at a flat 15%.
A rule courts enforce against being gamed
Indiana courts and disciplinary rulings have specifically addressed, and rejected, attempts to work around this split: an attorney can't take an inflated fee from the provider's portion specifically to offset the 15% limit on the Fund portion. Regardless of which source the money comes from, the overall compensation must still meet the general reasonableness standard, and the 15% limit on Fund money applies on its own terms.
What else comes out before you do
Case costs — expenses the attorney typically advances during litigation, like expert witness fees, filing fees, and the cost of gathering medical records — are generally reimbursed from the settlement. If Medicare, Medicaid, or a private health insurer has an outstanding lien for medical treatment related to the injury, that amount is also repaid before you receive your net share.