What kinds of case expenses get deducted from my Georgia settlement?

· 2 min read

Case expenses are the out-of-pocket costs spent to investigate, build, and pursue a claim, and they are deducted from the settlement separately from the attorney’s percentage fee. These are real third-party charges the firm typically advances and is reimbursed for, not part of the lawyer’s compensation.

Common categories of expenses

The exact expenses vary with how far a case goes, but they usually fall into recognizable groups:

  • Court and filing costs: the fee to file a lawsuit, service-of-process charges, and other court fees once litigation begins.
  • Records and reports: charges to obtain medical records, billing records, the police or incident report, and similar documents.
  • Expert fees: payments to medical, accident-reconstruction, vocational, or economic experts who review the case and may testify.
  • Deposition costs: court-reporter fees and transcripts for sworn testimony taken during discovery.
  • Investigation and evidence: costs to photograph a scene, obtain surveillance or camera footage, or locate and interview witnesses.
  • Postage, copying, and administrative charges directly tied to the case.

Early-resolved claims may incur only modest records and report costs, while a litigated case can accumulate substantial expert and deposition charges. That is why the same percentage fee can leave very different net amounts depending on how heavily a case was worked.

How they show up at settlement

Expenses are reimbursed out of the settlement, in an order the fee agreement sets, alongside the attorney fee and any medical liens. The agreement should state whether the contingency percentage is calculated on the gross recovery or on the amount after expenses, because that choice changes the client’s net. At disbursement, the client should receive an itemized statement listing each expense so the deductions can be checked against actual invoices rather than accepted as a lump sum.

What expenses are not

Case expenses are distinct from the attorney fee and from medical liens. The fee compensates the lawyer’s time; expenses reimburse third-party costs; liens and subrogation claims repay providers or insurers for care related to the injury. Keeping these three apart makes the closing statement far easier to verify.

The bottom line

A Georgia settlement typically has case expenses deducted for court and filing fees, records, expert and deposition costs, and investigation charges, all separate from the lawyer’s fee. Because these can range from minor to significant, the client should review an itemized expense list at disbursement and confirm in the fee agreement how expenses interact with the percentage.

This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.

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