Morgan & Morgan handles slip and fall cases on a contingency basis, meaning they take no fee unless they recover money for you
Morgan & Morgan is a personal injury law firm with offices across the United States. In slip and fall cases, they work the same way most injury attorneys do: they investigate what happened, gather evidence about the property owner's negligence, negotiate with insurance companies, and take the case to trial if settlement talks stall. You pay nothing upfront, and they take a percentage of whatever they recover—typically 33% if the case settles before trial, or 40% if it goes to court.
The firm has handled thousands of slip and fall cases, which means they have experience with the patterns that matter: how property owners should have maintained the floor, what warning signs they should have posted, how long a hazard sat unaddressed. That experience can matter when you're negotiating against an insurance adjuster who handles these claims every day.
Whether Morgan & Morgan is the right choice for your case depends on what happened, where it happened, and what injuries you sustained. A slip on a wet floor at a grocery store is different from a fall on a broken stair at an apartment building—the evidence you need, the liable party, and the likely payout all shift. This guide explains how the firm works and what questions to ask before you sign with any attorney.
Key Takeaways
- Morgan & Morgan takes slip and fall cases on contingency, so you owe nothing unless they recover money for you.
- The firm's fee is typically one-third of a settlement or 40% if the case goes to trial, plus you may owe court costs and informed witness fees separately.
- Your case needs evidence that the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to fix it or warn you—not every fall is someone else's fault.
- Morgan & Morgan has multiple offices, but you should ask which attorney will actually handle your case and what their specific experience is with cases like yours.
- You can consult with Morgan & Morgan and other firms before deciding; there is no obligation after an initial conversation.
How the contingency fee structure actually works
When you sign a contingency agreement with Morgan & Morgan, you are agreeing that the firm will take a percentage of your recovery instead of an hourly fee. If the case settles for $50,000 and the fee is 33%, the firm gets $16,500 and you receive $33,500. If the case settles for nothing, you owe the firm nothing for their time.
What many people miss is that contingency covers the attorney's time, not the costs of the case itself. Court filing fees, medical record requests, informed witness fees (for an engineer to testify about the floor condition, for example), and deposition transcripts are separate. These costs come out of your recovery too, and they can add up to several thousand dollars. Ask Morgan & Morgan upfront which costs they advance and which you might owe even if you lose.
The percentage also depends on timing. A case that settles early—before the firm has to file a lawsuit—often costs 33%. Once the case is filed in court and moves toward trial, the percentage may rise to 40% because the work intensifies. Some firms charge 40% from the start. Ask what percentage applies to your specific situation and at what point it might increase.
What Morgan & Morgan needs to prove in your case
A slip and fall is only someone else's legal responsibility if four things are true: the property owner had a duty to keep the floor safe, they breached that duty by failing to maintain it or warn you, that breach caused your fall, and your fall caused real injury. Not every fall meets this standard, even if it happened on someone else's property.
The hardest part is usually proving the owner knew or should have known about the hazard. If you slipped on a puddle that appeared five minutes before you arrived, the owner may not have had time to notice it or clean it up. If the puddle had been there for hours and employees walked past it without addressing it, that is negligence. Morgan & Morgan will look for witness statements, security camera footage, maintenance logs, and prior complaints about the same hazard.
The location matters enormously. A grocery store has a duty to inspect floors regularly and mop spills quickly—that is part of their business. A private home has a lower duty; a guest who falls on a cracked step may have less of a claim than a customer who falls in a store. A commercial landlord has a duty to maintain common areas, but a tenant's guest who falls in the tenant's apartment may have no claim against the landlord at all.
What to expect during the investigation and negotiation
After you sign with Morgan & Morgan, the firm will request your medical records, photographs of the scene (if you have them), and names of anyone who witnessed the fall. They will send a demand letter to the property owner's insurance company, describing what happened and what your injuries cost. This letter includes medical bills, lost wages, and a request for compensation for pain and suffering.
The insurance company will investigate too. They may hire their own adjuster to visit the scene, review maintenance records, and interview witnesses. They will look for reasons to deny or minimize the claim—whether you were distracted, whether the hazard was obvious, whether your injuries were actually caused by the fall. This is normal and expected.
If the insurance company's first offer is far below what you and Morgan & Morgan believe the case is worth, the firm will counter. This back-and-forth can take weeks or months. If no settlement is reached, Morgan & Morgan will file a lawsuit in the appropriate court, and the case moves into the discovery phase, where both sides exchange documents and take depositions. Most cases still settle during this phase, but some go to trial.
Questions to ask Morgan & Morgan before you hire them
When you speak with Morgan & Morgan, ask who will actually handle your case. Large firms sometimes assign cases to junior attorneys or paralegals. There is nothing wrong with that, but you should know it upfront. Ask how many slip and fall cases they have handled in your state and what the outcomes were—not just wins, but what settlements typically look like for injuries like yours.
Ask whether they have handled cases at the specific location where you fell. If you fell at a chain grocery store, the firm may have prior cases against that company and know their insurance company's patterns. Ask what costs they advance and what you might owe if the case does not settle. Ask whether they will take your case to trial if necessary, or whether they prefer to settle—some firms are more aggressive than others.
Ask about timeline. How long do they expect the investigation to take? When would they file a lawsuit if settlement talks fail? How long do trials typically last? Slip and fall cases can resolve in months or take years, depending on the complexity and the court's schedule. You deserve to know what you are signing up for.
When Morgan & Morgan might not be the right fit
Morgan & Morgan is a large firm with resources, but they are not the only option, and they may not be the best choice for every case. If your injuries are minor—a scraped knee, a bruised shoulder—the case value may be low, and a contingency fee eats a larger percentage of a small recovery. A smaller, local firm might be more interested in a modest case.
If liability is unclear—for example, you fell on a wet floor but cannot prove how long it had been wet, or there were no witnesses—some firms will pass because the case is too risky. Morgan & Morgan may do the same. If you fell on your own property or in a situation where the owner had no duty to you, there may be no case at all, and no firm will take it.
If you have already settled with the property owner or their insurance company on your own, you cannot hire an attorney to reopen that settlement. If you waited years to report the fall or seek medical care, the statute of limitations may have passed. Ask Morgan & Morgan directly whether they believe your case is worth pursuing before you commit.
How to compare Morgan & Morgan with other attorneys
You are not obligated to hire the first firm you speak with. Call three or four personal injury attorneys in your area and describe what happened. Ask each one the same questions: Do they take the case on contingency? What is their fee? Who handles the case? How many similar cases have they done? What do they think the case is worth?
You will likely hear different answers. One firm may be confident the case is strong; another may see obstacles. One may quote 33% contingency; another may say 40%. One may have handled dozens of cases at the location where you fell; another may have none. These differences matter. The firm that knows the property owner's insurance company and has settled similar cases before may get you a better outcome than a firm taking on your case for the first time.
Pay attention to how the attorney treats you during the consultation. Do they listen, or do they rush through? Do they explain things in plain language, or do they use jargon without clarifying? Do they seem interested in your case, or are they trying to sign you up quickly? Trust matters in this relationship—you are giving them authority to negotiate on your behalf and represent you in court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay Morgan & Morgan anything upfront?
No. Contingency means the firm covers their own time and advances costs. You owe nothing unless they recover money for you. However, costs like court filing fees and informed witness fees may be deducted from your recovery separately from the attorney's fee, so ask what you might owe.
What if Morgan & Morgan settles my case for less than I think it is worth?
You have the right to refuse any settlement offer. The attorney cannot force you to accept. If you and the firm disagree on strategy or value, you can fire them and hire another attorney, though you may owe them a fee for work already done.
How long does a slip and fall case usually take?
Cases that settle without a lawsuit can resolve in three to six months. Cases that go to trial often take one to two years or longer, depending on the court's schedule and the complexity of the evidence. Ask Morgan & Morgan what they expect for your specific situation.
What if I was partially at fault for the fall?
Many states allow you to recover even if you were partly responsible, as long as the property owner was more at fault. Some states bar recovery if you were equally at fault. Morgan & Morgan will know the rules in your state and whether your case survives comparative fault analysis.
Can I hire Morgan & Morgan if I already have a personal injury attorney?
No. You cannot have two attorneys representing you in the same case. If you want to switch firms, you will need to fire your current attorney first, and they may claim a fee for work already done.