TL;DR — Quick Summary
A car accident lawyer in New York costs nothing upfront. The fee comes out of the injury settlement and is capped by court rule at one-third of the net recovery or a sliding schedule, whether the case settles or goes to trial. Your own no-fault benefits (medical bills and lost wages) are treated separately: if the insurer pays late, the lawyer’s fee on that claim is paid by the insurer, not out of your benefits. Property damage is often outside the retainer altogether. On a typical $60,000 crash settlement, the client keeps about $39,000–$41,000 before liens.
After a crash, the question of how much a car accident lawyer costs comes up almost immediately, usually alongside a damaged car, medical appointments and missed work. The short answer is that you pay nothing out of pocket. The longer answer is worth knowing, because a New York car case is really three claims in one — your no-fault benefits, your injury claim against the other driver, and your property damage — and the lawyer’s fee works differently on each.
The Three Parts of a New York Car Accident Claim
| Claim | What it pays | How the lawyer is paid |
|---|---|---|
| No-fault (first-party) | Medical bills, 80% of lost wages up to a monthly cap, and some other expenses, up to $50,000, regardless of who caused the crash | Not part of the contingency fee. If the insurer pays an overdue claim, it also pays the lawyer’s fee, set by regulation |
| Injury claim (third-party) | Pain and suffering and economic loss above no-fault, from the at-fault driver’s insurer — available only if the injury meets New York’s serious-injury threshold | Contingency fee, capped at one-third of the net or Schedule A |
| Property damage | Vehicle repair or total loss, rental | Often excluded from the retainer and handled through your collision coverage or the other insurer directly — check your agreement |
What Percentage Do Car Accident Lawyers Take in New York?
The fee on the injury claim is limited by the same court rule that covers every New York personal injury case. The retainer must choose one of two options:
- Schedule B — a flat percentage of no more than one-third of the net recovery. Most car accident retainers use this.
- Schedule A — a sliding scale: 50% of the first $1,000, 40% of the next $2,000, 35% of the next $22,000 and 25% of anything above $25,000.
The cap is the same whether the case settles in three months or after a jury trial. A fee above it needs a judge’s written approval, so a retainer that says “40% if the case goes to trial” is not a New York standard for an ordinary car case. For the rules in full, see personal injury lawyer fees in New York; for what to check in the agreement itself, see how a contingency fee agreement works.
Car Accident Lawyer Cost: Two Real Examples
Which schedule is better depends on the size of the case. In both examples below, expenses are deducted first and the fee is applied to the net.
| Settlement | Expenses | Fee: one-third | Fee: Schedule A | You keep (before liens) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15,000 (soft-tissue, quick settlement) | $500 | $4,833 | $5,325 | $9,667 (B) / $9,175 (A) |
| $60,000 (fracture, lawsuit filed) | $1,500 | $19,500 | $17,375 | $39,000 (B) / $41,125 (A) |
Schedule B is cheaper on small cases; Schedule A becomes cheaper once the net recovery passes about $33,000. Because the choice is made at signing, it is worth asking which one the retainer uses. To estimate what your own claim may be worth before any of these deductions, use our personal injury settlement calculator.
No-Fault Benefits: Why the Lawyer Doesn’t Take a Cut
Every New York driver carries no-fault coverage, which pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages no matter who caused the crash. Those benefits are paid directly to you or your doctors, and the contingency fee on your injury case is not calculated on them.
When a no-fault insurer pays late or wrongly denies a claim, New York law puts the cost of fixing that on the insurer. Under Insurance Law § 5106, a claimant who has to pursue an overdue no-fault claim is entitled to an attorney’s fee paid by the insurer, at a rate set by the Department of Financial Services. In practice, much of that work is done by the medical provider’s own lawyers after you assign your benefits to them.
What the lawyer on your injury case should do is make sure the no-fault application is filed within 30 days of the crash and that medical bills go in on time, because a late filing can cost you benefits that no settlement will replace.
Property Damage: Usually a Separate Track
Most injury lawyers do not take a percentage of your car repair. Property damage is usually resolved quickly, either through your own collision coverage (which then pursues the other driver’s insurer) or directly with the at-fault driver’s carrier. Some retainers say the firm will help with property damage at no extra fee; others exclude it. If the agreement is silent, ask.
Liens: The Other Number That Changes Your Take-Home
Car cases are different from other injury cases in one useful way: because no-fault pays first, many medical bills never become liens on your settlement. Your no-fault insurer has no right to be repaid out of the injury settlement for the benefits it paid. And under General Obligations Law § 5-335, most private health insurers cannot claim reimbursement from a New York personal injury settlement either. The main exceptions are Medicare, Medicaid and some employer self-funded plans, which can assert a lien. Your lawyer should identify and negotiate any lien before the case closes.
What Drives the Value of a Car Accident Case
The fee percentage is fixed; the size of the recovery it applies to is not. In New York car cases, value turns on a few specific issues:
- The serious-injury threshold. To recover pain and suffering from the other driver, your injury must qualify as “serious” under Insurance Law § 5102(d) — for example a fracture, significant limitation of a body function, or permanent loss of use. The 2026 reform removed the old 90/180-day category, so medical proof of the injury itself matters more than ever.
- Comparative fault. In lawsuits started on or after May 26, 2026 — even over earlier crashes — a claimant in a no-fault motor vehicle case whose share of fault is greater than the defendants’ combined share cannot recover pain and suffering. Fault evidence — video, witnesses, the police report — is worth more than it used to be.
- Policy limits. New York’s minimum bodily injury coverage is $25,000 per person. If the other driver carries only the minimum, your own supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage may be the real source of recovery.
- Treatment history. Gaps in treatment are the most common reason offers come in low.
For the steps that protect these issues in the first days after a crash, see what to do after a car accident in New York.
Is a Car Accident Lawyer Worth the Fee?
For a fender-bender with no injury, usually not — handle the property damage through insurance and move on. Once there is a real injury, the threshold, the fault rules and the coverage questions above are where unrepresented claims tend to lose value. The honest test is simple: will this lawyer add more to the recovery than the fee takes away? A free consultation is the place to ask. If you were hurt in Brooklyn, a Brooklyn car accident lawyer can review your case at no cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a car accident lawyer cost in New York?
Nothing upfront. The fee is a percentage of the injury settlement, capped by court rule at one-third of the net recovery or a sliding Schedule A, and there is no fee if nothing is recovered.
Can a car accident lawyer charge 40% if the case goes to trial?
Not in an ordinary New York car accident case without a written court order. The cap applies at every stage, including trial.
Does the lawyer take a percentage of my no-fault benefits?
No. No-fault benefits are not part of the contingency fee. If an overdue no-fault claim has to be pursued, the insurer pays the attorney’s fee set by regulation.
Do car accident lawyers charge for property damage?
Usually not. Property damage is often excluded from the retainer and handled through collision coverage or directly with the other driver’s insurer. Check your agreement.
Will my health insurer take part of my car accident settlement?
Usually not. No-fault pays first, and General Obligations Law § 5-335 bars most private health insurers from reimbursement. Medicare, Medicaid and some self-funded employer plans can assert liens.
How much will I keep from a $60,000 car accident settlement?
With $1,500 in expenses, about $39,000 under a one-third fee or about $41,125 under Schedule A, before any liens.
Key Takeaways
✅ No upfront cost — the fee comes only from the injury settlement
✅ Capped at one-third of the net or Schedule A, settlement or trial
✅ No-fault benefits are outside the fee; insurers pay fees on overdue claims
✅ Property damage is usually a separate track with no percentage
✅ Case value depends on the serious-injury threshold, fault and policy limits
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