No percentage cap, currently
Louisiana imposes no statutory percentage cap on contingency fees in personal injury or medical malpractice cases. The governing standard is reasonableness, under Rule 1.5(a) of the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct. Typical rates range from 33% to 40% of the total recovery.
A 2025 bill came close to changing that
House Bill 439 (2025) would have capped contingency fees in any delictual (tort) action at 10% for the first $15,000 of recovery — a modest but real statutory limit, with violations referred to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. The bill passed the full House of Representatives by a 57–30 vote but stalled in the Senate Judiciary A committee and was never enacted.
What the bill would have changed, and didn't
Under the proposed cap, the first $15,000 of any recovery would have carried a 10% fee ceiling regardless of the attorney's standard rate, with the remainder of the recovery unaffected. The bill also would have made the contingency fee percentage itself legally "discoverable" information, and voided any confidentiality clause attempting to hide it. Because the bill never became law, none of this currently applies — Louisiana fee agreements remain governed entirely by private negotiation and the general reasonableness standard.
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.