Last updated October 5, 2026.
A Florida lawyer can take an injury case for a contingent fee, a percentage of any recovery, but only under a written contract you sign. Without court approval, the Florida Bar's Rule 4-1.5 presumes a personal injury fee is clearly excessive above set standards, such as 33 1/3 percent of the first $1 million before the defendant answers the lawsuit and 40 percent after. Our initial consultation is free, and you can learn what fee arrangement would apply to your case before you decide anything.
This page explains the rules that protect you when you hire a lawyer for a cruise injury claim: what the fee contract must say, how case costs work, what the federal court in Miami charges, and how the money is divided at the end. It is part of our overview of cruise injury claims. It describes the rules, not our own terms; those are explained to you at the consultation.
How does paying a cruise injury lawyer work, step by step?
- The consultation. You describe what happened and the lawyer explains whether there may be a claim, how it would be handled and the fee arrangement that would apply.
- The statement of client's rights. Before a contingent fee contract in an injury case, the lawyer must give you the Florida Bar's Statement of Client's Rights and a full chance to understand it. You both sign it and you keep a copy (Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(C)).
- The written contract. The fee agreement must be in writing, signed by you and by a lawyer for the firm, and you receive a copy (Rule 4-1.5(f)(2)).
- Three business days to change your mind. The contract must say you can cancel it in writing within 3 business days of signing without owing a fee for that time (Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(A)(ii)).
- Costs during the case. A lawyer may advance court costs and litigation expenses, and repayment may depend on the outcome (Rule 4-1.8(e)). Your contract says how costs are handled.
- Offers and the decision to settle. Your lawyer must tell you about every settlement offer, and the final decision to accept or reject is yours (Statement of Client's Rights, item 10).
- The closing statement. If there is a recovery, you receive and approve a written closing statement listing the recovery, every cost and each lawyer's fee before money is paid out (Rule 4-1.5(f)(5)).
Do the Florida Bar's fee rules apply in a federal cruise case?
Yes, for lawyers practicing in the Miami federal court. Most cruise tickets send passenger lawsuits to the federal court in Miami (see why your cruise ticket says you have to sue in Miami). That court's Local Rule 11.1(c) says the standards of professional conduct for lawyers practicing before it include the current Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The fee rule is in Chapter 4 of those rules, as amended through October 1, 2026.
The contingent fee limits in Rule 4-1.5(f)(4) cover any claim for personal injury, or for death, resulting from personal injuries based on the wrongful conduct of another. A passenger's negligence claim against a cruise line is that kind of claim. The rule applies whatever the case type: a fall, a medical error, an excursion injury, an assault or a death at sea.
What percentage can a contingent fee be?
Florida does not set one fixed fee. The first item in the Statement of Client's Rights says there is no legal requirement that a lawyer charge a set fee or a percentage, and that you have the right to talk about the proposed fee and bargain over it as with any other contract. What the rule does set is a ceiling: a contingent fee above these standards, without prior court approval, is presumed clearly excessive unless that presumption is rebutted.
| Stage when the case resolves | Up to $1 million | $1 million to $2 million | Above $2 million |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before the defendant files an answer (or the time to answer runs out) | 33 1/3% | 30% | 20% |
| After the answer is filed, through the entry of judgment | 40% | 30% | 20% |
| All defendants admit liability in their answers and ask for a trial only on damages | 33 1/3% | 20% | 15% |
| An appeal, or post-judgment action needed to collect | An additional 5% of any recovery | ||
Each percentage applies only to its slice of the recovery. On a $1.5 million recovery after the answer, the standard is 40 percent of the first $1 million plus 30 percent of the next $500,000. The answer is the cruise line's formal written response to the complaint; when it is due is covered on our page about how long a cruise injury lawsuit takes.
What must a Florida contingent fee contract say?
- How the fee is figured, including the percentage or percentages that apply if the case settles, goes to trial or is appealed (Rule 4-1.5(f)(1)).
- Which costs come out of the recovery, and whether they are deducted before or after the percentage is calculated (Rule 4-1.5(f)(1)).
- Two required statements: that you received, read and signed the Statement of Client's Rights, and that you may cancel within 3 business days (Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(A)).
- Every firm sharing the fee. No other lawyer or firm may share in the fee without your written consent, and each one must sign the contract and take joint legal responsibility for the case (Rule 4-1.5(f)(2)).
If a contract includes mandatory arbitration of fee disputes, the lawyer must first tell you in writing to consider independent legal advice, and the contract must carry a printed notice in bold explaining what you give up (Rule 4-1.5(i)).
What are case costs, and who pays them?
Costs are the money a case needs apart from the lawyer's time: court fees, deposition transcripts, medical records, expert witness work and travel. Rule 4-1.8(e) lets a lawyer advance court costs and litigation expenses, with repayment that may depend on the outcome. Under the Statement of Client's Rights, item 6, you have the right to know in advance how expenses and fees will be paid at the end, to a reasonable estimate of future costs, to periodic updates on what has been spent, and to be told whether the fee is figured on the gross recovery or on the recovery minus costs.
| Item | Amount or rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Filing a civil action in the Southern District of Florida | $405 ($350 filing fee plus a $55 administrative fee) | 28 U.S.C. 1914(a); Judicial Conference fee schedule; S.D. Fla. Court Fees page |
| Court-ordered mediator | Paid at the court's standing-order rate (mediator assigned by the Clerk) or at a rate agreed in writing (mediator chosen by the parties); shared equally unless the parties agree otherwise; due within 45 days of the invoice | S.D. Fla. Local Rule 16.2(b)(7) |
| Costs the winner may recover from the loser | Allowed to the prevailing party unless a statute, rule or order says otherwise; attorney's fees are not included | FRCP 54(d)(1) |
| What counts as taxable costs | Clerk and marshal fees, transcripts, printing and witness fees, copies, docket fees, court-appointed experts and interpreters | 28 U.S.C. 1920 |
| Rejecting a formal offer of judgment | If the final judgment is not more favorable than the unaccepted offer, the person who rejected it pays the costs incurred after the offer | FRCP 68(d) |
The mediator's fee comes up in nearly every case, because the Miami court refers civil cases to mediation; see what happens at mediation in a cruise injury case. Travel can be a cost too, though many steps can be handled by phone or video; our page on whether you have to travel to Miami for your case explains which steps may need you here.
What happens to the money at the end?
Rule 4-1.5(f)(5) requires a closing statement whenever there is a recovery. It itemizes all costs and expenses and the fee received by each lawyer or firm, and it is signed by every participating lawyer and by you. Item 8 of the Statement of Client's Rights adds that until you approve the closing statement, your lawyer cannot pay any money to anyone, including you, without a court order. The lawyers must keep the fee contract and closing statement for 6 years.
If the settlement is paid over time instead of in one sum, the percentage is figured on the cost of the structured settlement or its present value, whichever is less (Rule 4-1.5(f)(6)). Before you accept any payment from the cruise line itself, read our page on signing a release or accepting a future cruise credit.
What changes the answer?
When the case resolves
The standards rise once the cruise line files its answer: from 33 1/3 to 40 percent of the first $1 million (Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(i)). A contract can set different percentages for each stage, so check which one applies at each point. The stages of a Miami case are laid out on our page about what happens after you file in Miami federal court.
An admission of liability
If every defendant admits liability in its answer and asks for a trial only on damages, the standards drop to 33 1/3, 20 and 15 percent (Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(i)c).
An appeal
An appeal, or post-judgment work needed to collect, can add 5 percent of the recovery (Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(i)d).
More than one law firm
When lawyers from different firms share a fee in an injury case, the lawyer with primary responsibility receives at least 75 percent of the total fee and the lawyer with secondary responsibility no more than 25 percent, unless a court authorizes otherwise for substantially equal work (Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(D)). Those percentages split one total fee between the firms, and Rule 4-1.5(g) requires the total fee to be reasonable. Items 4 and 5 of the Statement of Client's Rights say you should be told at the start if other lawyers will work on the case.
Claims about medical care
Article I, section 26 of the Florida Constitution entitles a claimant in a medical liability claim with a contingent fee to at least 70 percent of the first $250,000 of damages and 90 percent of damages above $250,000, exclusive of reasonable and customary costs, unless the right is waived in writing under oath. Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(iii) requires the lawyer to give you that language in writing and explain it. If your claim is about the ship's medical staff, ask how this provision applies to it; see our page on medical negligence at sea.
A child's claim
Once a lawsuit is filed for a minor in Florida, a settlement is effective only if the court approves it (Fla. Stat. 744.387(3)(a)). Our page on what is different when your child was hurt on a cruise explains who acts for the child.
A fee above the standards
If a client cannot hire the lawyer of their choice within the standards, the client may petition the court for approval of a different fee contract; the court grants it only if the client fully understands their rights and the terms (Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B)(ii)).
What does this look like in practice?
For example, picture a hypothetical passenger who signs a contingent fee contract after a fall on board. The cruise line files its answer, and months later the case settles at mediation for $300,000. Suppose the contract sets 40 percent after the answer and says $12,000 in case costs will be repaid from the recovery. The numbers below are an illustration only, not anyone's actual terms.
| Step | Fee figured on the gross recovery | Costs deducted first, then the fee |
|---|---|---|
| Settlement | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| Costs deducted before the fee | none | $12,000 (leaves $288,000) |
| Fee at 40% | $120,000 | $115,200 |
| Costs repaid after the fee | $12,000 | none |
| To the passenger, before any medical liens or other payments | $168,000 | $172,800 |
The $4,800 difference comes only from the order of the steps, which is why the rule makes the contract say whether costs come off before or after the fee. At the end, the passenger reads a closing statement that lists each of these numbers, signs it, and only then is the money paid out.
What mistakes do people make about legal fees?
- Not asking whether the fee is on the gross or the net. As the example shows, the order changes what you receive.
- Assuming there are never costs. A contingent fee covers the lawyer's fee; the contract says what happens to costs, including if there is no recovery. Item 7 of the Statement of Client's Rights entitles you to be told the possible consequences of losing.
- Assuming the cruise line pays your lawyer. Federal Rule 54(d)(1) lets the winner recover court costs, and it expressly leaves out attorney's fees.
- Not asking who will work on the case. If another firm will be involved, you have the right to know at the start and to consult each lawyer.
- Forgetting the 3-day window. You can cancel in writing within 3 business days of signing; after that, discharging the lawyer without good cause may mean paying for work already done (Statement, item 2).
- Letting the fee conversation delay the claim. The ticket's notice and lawsuit deadlines keep running; see why the clock is already running on cruise claims.
What should you do this week?
- Write down the date of the injury and find your ticket contract.
- Request a consultation and ask how the fee would work in your case.
- Ask for the Statement of Client's Rights and read it before you sign anything.
- Ask four questions: what percentage at each stage, gross or net, who pays costs if there is no recovery, and whether another firm will be involved.
- Keep your signed copies of the statement and the contract in one place.
- If you live outside Florida, read our page on working with a cruise injury lawyer in Miami.
Frequently asked questions
Is the first consultation free?
Yes. Our initial consultation is free, and we explain how your case would be handled and what fee arrangement applies before you decide anything.
Can I negotiate the percentage?
Yes. The Statement of Client's Rights says you have the right to talk with the lawyer about the proposed fee and to bargain about the rate or percentage as in any other contract. If you do not reach an agreement with one lawyer, you may talk with others.
Do I owe anything if there is no recovery?
A fee that is contingent on the outcome is earned only if there is a recovery. Costs are a separate question that your contract must answer; Rule 4-1.8(e) allows repayment of advanced costs to depend on the outcome. Ask the lawyer to point you to the clause.
Who decides whether to accept a settlement?
You do. Your lawyer must tell you about every offer, before and after trial, and the final decision to accept or reject belongs to you (Statement, item 10).
What if I think a fee is too high?
Item 11 of the Statement says you may report a fee you believe is excessive or illegal to The Florida Bar, which oversees lawyers in Florida. Fee disagreements can also go to court, or to arbitration if your contract provides for it.
Does the filing fee come out of my pocket on day one?
The court requires the $405 at filing, but who advances it depends on your agreement; Rule 4-1.8(e) allows a lawyer to advance court costs. The court's fee schedule says the $55 administrative fee does not apply to people granted permission to proceed without paying fees under 28 U.S.C. 1915.
Sources
- Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, Chapter 4, Rules of Professional Conduct, as of October 1, 2026: Rule 4-1.5 (fees and costs, Statement of Client's Rights for Contingency Fees) and Rule 4-1.8(e) (The Florida Bar, PDF)
- Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, all chapters (The Florida Bar)
- Local Rules of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, effective December 1, 2025: Rules 11.1(c) and 16.2(b)(7) (PDF)
- Court Fees (U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida)
- 28 U.S.C. 1914, District court; filing and miscellaneous fees (U.S. Code, GovInfo)
- District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, effective December 1, 2023 (United States Courts)
- 28 U.S.C. 1920, Taxation of costs (U.S. Code, GovInfo)
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 54(d) and 68 (United States Courts)
- Fla. Stat. 744.387, Settlement of claims (Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine)