Find a Personal Injury Lawyer In Philadelphia, PA (2025)

How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost in Philadelphia, PA?

A personal injury lawyer in Philadelphia typically charges a legal fee equal to a percentage of the compensation they recover for you. This contingent fee allows the lawyer to start working on a case without any upfront payments. It also saves you from paying legal fees if the lawyer fails to win or settle your claim.

The average contingency fee will usually fall between 33.3% and 40% of your award. Any variation in the percentage quoted by a lawyer will depend on several factors, including the difficulty of your case and the lawyer’s experience.

How to Hire a Philadelphia, PA, Personal Injury Attorney

Referrals are often valuable for finding the right lawyer for your case. Talk to people you know and trust about the lawyers they have used in the past. If you do not know anyone who has filed a personal injury claim, turn to a lawyer referral service like ConsumerShield.

After you gather names, verify that they can take your case. Start by searching for those lawyers in the database provided by the state’s disciplinary board. Check that they’re in good standing with the bar and have clean disciplinary records. Also, make sure the firm takes your case type. A product liability attorney might not take premises liability cases.

Make some appointments for free consultations. These meetings allow you to interview the lawyers so you can compare them. Ask questions about the lawyer’s experience in similar cases. Also, talk about fees and case updates so you know what to expect when you hire them.

Average Personal Injury Settlement in Philadelphia, PA

The average personal injury settlement depends on many factors, including the type of case and the severity of your injuries. Specifically, car accident cases are governed by Pennsylvania’s choice no-fault law that requires vehicle owners to choose between full tort and limited tort.

That decision determines the compensation drivers can seek after auto accidents. Cases that do not involve traffic crashes can also vary in value. The settlement can cover economic and non-economic losses.

Economic losses include the financial price of your injuries. Non-economic losses cover the impact your injuries have had on your life. Both of these losses are greater for severe injuries, particularly those that permanently disfigure or disable you.

So what amount might you expect from a settlement? The average personal injury settlement in the U.S. as of 2020 was $125,366. To get a more precise idea of what you can expect, it’s important to speak with a Philadelphia personal injury attorney.

Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Pennsylvania

A personal injury attorney typically starts a case by filing an insurance claim. Examples of insurance policies that might cover your injuries include the following:

• Business liability insurance covers injuries to customers.
• Business property insurance covers accidents on a company’s premises.
• Homeowner’s and renter’s insurance cover slip and fall injuries in homes.
• Auto insurance covers collisions with vehicles, bikes and pedestrians.
• Malpractice insurance covers injuries resulting from medical errors.

To win a claim, your lawyer usually must prove the insured party acted negligently. For example, an auto insurer will pay a claim if the insured driver runs a stop sign and hits a pedestrian. However, it will usually not pay claims if a gust of wind pushes the insured vehicle into your car.

If the insurer denies the claim, your lawyer may advise you to file a lawsuit. You will usually want to decide whether to file quickly since Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations only gives you two years to file a lawsuit after an accident.

How Does a Personal Injury Lawsuit Work in Philadelphia?

A personal injury lawsuit will name the at-fault party. However, their insurer will typically defend them, with the insurer joining the lawsuit as an interested party since it will have to pay if it loses the case.

Most of the litigation will be spent uncovering evidence and determining what the lawyers can present at trial. At the same time, settlement will likely continue. The parties can often find a way to settle as they see each other’s evidence. Personal injury cases rarely reach trial.

Types of Personal Injury Cases in Philadelphia, PA

Lawyers do not take a class called personal injury law. Instead, they learn tort law. Torts are legal wrongs that one party commits against another. Some torts that can provide the basis for a personal injury claim include the following:

• Defamation of character
• Medical malpractice
• Traffic accidents, including truck, bicycle and pedestrian collisions
• Premises liability
• Product liability
• Dog bites

Lawyers rarely practice in all these areas. Instead, they usually focus on certain ones while declining cases from other fields. For example, a product liability class action lawyer might not take car accident cases.

Get Help Finding a Personal Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia From ConsumerShield

Your injuries could significantly impact your finances and quality of life. ConsumerShield can help you understand your legal situation and find a lawyer to represent your interests. Contact us for a free case review and a lawyer referral.