Except in a few areas restricted by law, the fee percentage can be anything that the client and lawyer agree to. A normal fee percentage in a motor vehicle or other negligence case with significant injuries and solid liability facts would be 33 1/3%. If damages are small and the case is likely to settle without filing suit the contract might specify an increase to 40% if suit is filed or, better for the client, 40% if the case actually goes to trial. Products liability and other cases that will require high expert witness fees will normally be accepted on a 40% fee basis. The most difficult and expensive type of case to litigate is medical malpractice, made even more so after the tort reform legislation passed in the summer of 2003. In most medical malpractice cases the attorney will ask for a fee of at least 40%, perhaps less in those rare cases where the malpractice insurer does not seriously dispute liability. Fees are limited to 20% in claims for injuries caused by negligence of federal government employees. Workers compensation fees are so severely restricted that most personal injury attorneys decline to accept, and those that do must handle a very large caseload to remain in practice. In cases involving major injuries to a child or mentally incompetent person the court must approve the fee, which is limited to 33 1/3% except in exceptional circumstances.