My Lawyer Took Too Much of My Settlement. How Do I Read My Settlement Statement? (Colorado)

If the check is smaller than you expected, start with the settlement statement. In Colorado, your lawyer has to give you a written statement at the end of a contingency fee case that shows the attorney fee and how it was calculated, every case cost, and every payment to someone else, like a medical provider or your health insurer. Every number on it should trace back to your signed fee agreement or to a bill you can ask to see.

Most of the time the numbers are right and the surprise comes from liens or costs nobody explained up front. Sometimes they aren’t. Here’s how to tell the difference.

What Is a Settlement Statement?

A settlement statement (also called a disbursement or closing statement) is the written breakdown of where every dollar of your recovery went. Colorado requires one.

Under Colo. RPC 1.5(c)(5), when a contingency fee case ends, the lawyer must give the client a written disbursement statement that includes:

• an itemization of the costs and expenses incurred handling the case,
• the amounts paid to third parties, and
• the computation of the contingent fee.

The Colorado Supreme Court’s form disbursement statement starts with the gross recovery, lists each expense, shows the fee percentage and whether it was taken from the gross or the net, and ends with the amount paid to you. You sign to acknowledge you received it.

What Order Does the Money Come Out In?

The settlement check goes into your lawyer’s trust account, not the lawyer’s operating account. From there, it’s paid out in roughly this order:

How Do I Check the Attorney Fee?

Pull out your fee agreement. Colorado requires it to be in writing and signed by you and the lawyer, and the lawyer has to keep a copy for seven years, so if you lost yours, ask for it.

Then check four things:

1. The percentage. Does the percentage on the statement match the agreement?
2. The stage. Most agreements charge more once a lawsuit is filed. If your statement uses the litigation rate, a lawsuit should actually have been filed. Ask if you’re not sure.
3. Gross or net. Your agreement has to say whether the fee is figured before or after costs are taken out. Check that the statement does it the way the agreement says. At Venyx, the fee is calculated on the gross recovery, and every personal injury fee agreement I’ve seen uses gross.
4. Prior lawyers. If you switched lawyers, find out how the first lawyer is being paid. Under Colorado’s rules, a fee can’t be split between firms without your written consent. When I take over a case, the prior lawyer’s share comes out of my fee, so the client pays one fee total (how switching lawyers works).

For the basics of how contingency fees work and how Colorado regulates them, see What Is a Contingency Fee?

How Do I Check the Case Costs?

Case costs are real expenses spent on your case: medical records, police reports, filing fees, service of process, depositions, expert fees. They should be itemized, and you can ask for the receipts.

Look for charges that aren’t case expenses at all:

• Tech fees. Some firms charge $200 to $800 per case for their software (is your lawyer charging you AI fees?).
• Administrative fees. Some firms charge a flat fee for phone calls, mail, and copies. I’ve seen $50 one time, and one Colorado firm charges $350 a month.
• Lumps you can’t trace. “Miscellaneous” or “file costs” with no detail.

Those charges aren’t necessarily improper if your agreement allows them. But you should be able to find each one in the agreement. If you can’t, ask. Venyx doesn’t charge a tech fee or an administrative fee.

How Do I Check the Liens and Medical Payments?

Liens are often the biggest line after the fee, and the one clients understand least. If your health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or a provider paid for or treated your injuries, they may have a right to be paid back from your recovery.

Questions to ask:

• Is this the final lien amount? Liens are often reduced through negotiation. The statement should show the final number, not the opening demand.
• Did my health insurer have the right to be paid back in full? Colorado’s make-whole doctrine can limit what a health insurer recovers when you haven’t been fully compensated.
• Was a provider lien valid? If a provider treated you on a lien, Colorado’s health-care provider lien law caps the lien at the provider’s usual and customary charges, bars finance charges, and requires the lien holder to give you an itemized statement of charges on request (C.R.S. §§ 38-27.5-104 and 38-27.5-105).

For how medical bills get paid along the way, see Your MedPay Ran Out. Here’s Who Pays Your Medical Bills Next.

What Does a Clean Statement Look Like?

Here’s a hypothetical pre-litigation case at Venyx, settled for $100,000:

Hypothetical example for illustration only. Every case’s costs and liens are different.

Every line has a source. That’s the test for any statement.

What If I Think My Lawyer Took Too Much?

Start by asking, in writing, then escalate if you need to. Here’s the order I’d go in.

1. Compare the statement to your fee agreement. Line by line.
2. Ask for an explanation and backup. Request the itemized costs, the invoices, and the final lien letters by email so there’s a record.
3. Know that disputed money stays put. Under Colo. RPC 1.15A(c), when there’s a dispute over funds, the lawyer has to keep the disputed portion in trust until it’s resolved and promptly pay out the part that isn’t disputed. Raise the issue before you sign if you can.
4. Use fee arbitration. The Colorado Bar Association’s Legal Fee Arbitration Committee resolves fee disputes between Colorado lawyers and their clients at no cost to either side. Both sides generally have to agree to arbitrate.
5. Report misconduct. If you think your lawyer broke the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct, you can file a request for investigation with the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.
6. Dishonest conduct. If money was taken dishonestly, the Colorado Attorneys’ Fund for Client Protection reimburses clients for losses caused by an attorney’s dishonest conduct. It doesn’t cover ordinary fee disputes.
7. Get a second opinion. Another lawyer can review your agreement and statement.

What Does Venyx Charge?

At Venyx, the fee is 29% pre-litigation and 33% if we sue. Most firms charge 33 to 35% before a lawsuit and 40 to 45% after. The fee is calculated on the gross, and there’s no tech fee and no administrative fee. You pay nothing unless we recover.

One more rule I follow: I never take more from a case than my client takes home. Not every firm works that way. Sometimes a case has legitimate medical liens that have to be paid and only a small policy to pay them from. Say the at-fault driver has a $25,000 policy and $12,000 in medical liens are left after negotiation. A 29% fee is $7,250, which would leave the client $5,750 (leaving costs aside to keep it simple). When that happens, I cut my fee until our numbers match: $6,500 to me and $6,500 to the client.

Run your own numbers below.

Settlement Statement FAQ

Does my lawyer have to give me a settlement statement in Colorado?

Yes. Colo. RPC 1.5(c)(5) requires a written disbursement statement at the end of a contingency fee case, with an itemization of costs and expenses, amounts paid to third parties, and the computation of the fee.

Can my lawyer take their fee before paying my medical bills?

The fee, costs, and liens are all paid out of the same settlement in trust, and the statement should show each one. Whether the fee is figured on the gross or net amount depends on your written fee agreement, which has to say which.

Can my lawyer take more from my settlement than I get?

It can happen, usually when medical liens eat up most of a small policy, and not every firm adjusts its fee when it does. At Venyx, I never take more from a case than my client takes home. If liens would leave the client with less than my fee, I reduce my fee until our numbers match.

Is it normal for a lawyer to charge costs on top of the contingency fee?

Yes. Case costs like medical records, filing fees, and expert fees are usually reimbursed from the settlement separately from the fee. Your agreement should explain how costs are handled.

What happens if I dispute part of my settlement?

Under Colo. RPC 1.15A(c), the lawyer must hold the disputed portion in trust until the dispute is resolved and promptly pay you the undisputed portion.

How do I file a fee dispute against a lawyer in Colorado?

The Colorado Bar Association’s Legal Fee Arbitration Committee handles fee disputes at no cost to the participants, generally when both sides agree. Rule violations can be reported to the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.

Can a medical provider take more than its bill from my settlement?

Not under a Colorado health-care provider lien. The lien can’t exceed the provider’s usual and customary charges, and finance charges can’t be added (C.R.S. § 38-27.5-105).

This post is general information, not legal advice.