No Win, No Fee vs Hourly Personal Injury Lawyers

The Short Answer

For personal injury claims in Ontario, contingency ("no win, no fee") is almost always the right structure for the injured person. You pay nothing upfront, your lawyer funds the disbursements, and the fee only comes out of a successful recovery. Hourly billing shifts all of the financial risk onto you — at exactly the moment you are hurt and likely off work.

Contingency fees in Ontario are expressly permitted and regulated under the Solicitors Act, and the retainer must be in writing. Kanevsky Law works exclusively on contingency for injury claims.

How a Contingency Fee Actually Works

Say your claim settles for $200,000 and your agreement sets a 30% contingency fee. The fee is $60,000, plus HST, plus repayment of the disbursements the firm advanced (expert reports, medical records, court filing fees). Those disbursements are real money the firm fronted on your behalf — often $10,000–$50,000 in a serious case — and you would have had to pay them yourself under an hourly retainer.

Crucially, if the case had failed, you would owe no fee at all, and at Kanevsky Law you would not be chased for the disbursements either. That risk transfer is the entire point.

"But Isn't 30% a Lot?"

It is the most common objection, and it deserves a straight answer. Consider what you are buying:

• Risk transfer. The firm may invest two to four years and tens of thousands of dollars and recover nothing.
• Funded disbursements. Expert medical reports alone can cost $10,000+ — money most injured people simply do not have while off work.
• A better gross number. Represented claimants consistently settle for multiples of what unrepresented claimants accept. A larger number minus a fee routinely beats a small number with no fee.

The honest framing is not "70% versus 100%." It is "70% of a properly built claim versus 100% of whatever the insurer decides to offer someone with no lawyer." See our analysis of why first offers run 30–50% of true value.

When Hourly Might Make Sense

Hourly billing is genuinely appropriate for corporate litigation, commercial disputes, or where a client wants total control and has the cash flow to fund a case indefinitely. For an injured person facing lost income and medical bills, it is almost never the right call. That is why the overwhelming majority of Ontario personal injury work is done on contingency.

Questions to Ask Before You Sign Any Retainer

1. What exactly is the contingency percentage, and does it change if the case goes to trial?
2. Is HST calculated on top of the fee?
3. Who pays the disbursements if we lose?
4. Is the fee calculated before or after disbursements are deducted?
5. Will the lawyer I am speaking to today actually handle my file?

Ontario requires the contingency agreement to be in writing, and you are entitled to have every line explained before you sign. If a firm is vague about any of the above, that is your answer. Compare firms carefully — see how a focused practice differs from a high-volume advertising firm.