Do I pay anything if we lose my injury case?

No attorney fee is owed if there's no recovery. That's the defining feature of a contingency arrangement — the risk of an unsuccessful outcome falls on the attorney.

Costs are a separate question. Filing fees, deposition transcripts, expert witness fees, records charges, investigators, and accident reconstruction are expenses rather than fees, and they can be substantial in a litigated case.

Agreements handle them differently. Some firms absorb costs entirely if the case is unsuccessful. Others advance them and seek reimbursement only from a recovery. Others hold the client responsible regardless of outcome.

That difference matters enormously and it's the single most important clause to read in the agreement. Ask directly: *if we lose, do I owe anything at all?*

Also ask whether costs come off the top before the fee is calculated or after, because that changes your net meaningfully on the same settlement.