Plaintiff lawyers or personal injury lawyers work for client’s based on a contingency fee agreement. Most injured people cannot afford to hire an attorney when they are swamped with medical bills and lost wages. So a plaintiff lawyer will cover the expenses of litigation and other expenses until the case is concluded. The plaintiff lawyer will then get their expenses reimbursed after the case is concluded. In addition the plaintiff attorney will charge a percentage for their services. My percentage is usually 1/3 of the gross settlement amount. And if the case is unsuccessful then the plaintiff lawyer loses the expenses they have paid and does not get paid for all of the work that was done on the case.
For public policy purposes, this arrangement helps to prevent frivolous lawsuits because a plaintiff attorney would not file a case that they have little chance of being successful on for their client.