Wyoming: Where It Stands Among States With Fee Caps

A reasonableness-only state for fees

Compare Wyoming to a state like New York, which applies a hard statutory sliding scale to medical malpractice attorney fees specifically. Wyoming has no equivalent figure for any type of personal injury claim — the fee simply must be reasonable, reviewed under Rule 1.5 and the state's own dedicated contingent fee rules, with a formal state bar committee available to resolve disputes.

A constitutional ban, not a legislative gap

Wyoming's lack of a damages cap isn't simply an absence of legislation — the state constitution affirmatively forbids any law limiting damages for injury or death against a private defendant. That's a stronger and more unusual footing than most no-cap states, which typically rely on either legislative inaction or a single court ruling that a future legislature could try to work around.

Two separate questions, both currently uncapped

It's worth being clear that a damages cap and an attorney fee cap are entirely separate legal questions. Wyoming's constitutional provision addresses only damages against private defendants; it says nothing about what a plaintiff's attorney can charge. A 2025 proposal from the Wyoming Medical Society recommended a statutory fee cap specifically for malpractice cases — a change that wouldn't require touching the constitutional damages provision at all, since the two questions don't overlap.

The narrow exception doesn't touch fees either

Wyoming's $250,000 cap on certain government-entity claims limits what a plaintiff can recover from that specific type of defendant. The attorney's own percentage fee on that recovery remains governed entirely by Rule 1.5's reasonableness standard, untouched by the government-claim cap.

Wyoming's fee structure — frequently asked questions

Does Wyoming cap attorney fees in medical malpractice cases the way it caps damages?

No. Wyoming has no damages cap to speak of in the first place, thanks to its constitutional ban — and no statutory attorney fee cap either. Both questions are governed by reasonableness, not a fixed figure.

Is Wyoming's reason for having no damage cap unusual among states?

Yes — most states that have no cap simply never enacted one or had one struck down by a court. Wyoming's is affirmatively written into its constitution, a stronger and more unusual legal footing than either of those.

Is Wyoming's uncapped approach to personal injury fees typical among states?

It's one of two common approaches nationally. Many states rely on a general reasonableness standard for personal injury contingency fees, while others, particularly for medical malpractice, write a specific percentage ceiling into statute.

Could Wyoming add a fee cap for malpractice cases without touching the damages cap ban?

Yes — a statutory attorney fee cap and a constitutional damages cap are entirely separate questions. A 2025 medical society proposal recommended a fee cap specifically, which would not require amending the constitutional damages provision at all.

Does Wyoming's government-claim damages cap affect the attorney's own fee on that portion of a claim?

No — the $250,000 government-claim cap limits what the client can recover from that defendant; the attorney's percentage fee is still governed separately by Rule 1.5, applied to whatever is actually recovered.

This page provides general guidance only and is not legal advice. Figures are based on Rule 1.5 of the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct, the Rules Governing Contingent Fees for Members of the Wyoming State Bar, and Wyoming Constitution Art. 10, § 4, verified per our methodology. Confirm how current rules apply to a specific claim with a licensed attorney in the relevant state before acting.