The attorney's fee: compensation for the work
The contingency fee is the attorney's own compensation for handling the case — calculated as a percentage of the settlement or award. It's earnings, not a reimbursement, and it's what the attorney keeps for taking on the risk and the work of the case.
Case costs: real expenses the case required
Case costs are something entirely different: actual out-of-pocket expenses the case genuinely needed. This typically includes expert witness fees, court filing fees, the cost of obtaining medical records, deposition transcripts, and similar litigation expenses. These are reimbursed, not earned.
An early cost unique to malpractice timing
Rhode Island generally requires 182 days of pre-suit notice before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed, unless the statute of limitations is under six months away. Preparing that notice typically involves early record review and investigation well before a formal complaint is filed — a cost specific to the malpractice timeline that an ordinary car accident or slip-and-fall case wouldn't incur in the same way.
No certificate-of-merit requirement, unlike some states
Unlike states that require an early certificate of merit from a qualified expert before a malpractice case can proceed at all, Rhode Island imposes no such requirement. This keeps one potential upfront cost category — the formal merit certification itself — out of the cost picture here, distinguishing Rhode Island's malpractice cost structure from some neighboring jurisdictions.
Who fronts the money while the case is pending
Commonly, the attorney's office advances case costs as the litigation proceeds, with reimbursement coming out of the eventual settlement or award. The specific arrangement, including how pre-suit investigation costs are handled, depends entirely on the individual fee agreement.