Getting Funding for a Personal Injury Lawsuit
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Posted On :
May-04-2009
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Article Word Count :
574
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Often, personal injury defendants are worried that they won't be able to achieve both results at once.
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If you are the victim of an accident that could potentially lead to a personal injury settlement, you likely have two main concerns:
1.How to receive payment to pay medical bills and relieve suffering
2.How to afford to pay the services of an attorney.
Often, personal injury defendants are worried that they won't be able to achieve both results at once. If they're already struggling due to rising medical bills and/or loss of wages due to the inability to work, they may be worried that they won't be able to afford the cost of hiring a lawyer. For many, "lawyer" means "expensive." This is not necessarily the case with personal injury law, which has a unique system of payment. In fact, this type of payment is possible in other wings of the law as well.
Depending on the nature of your case, you may be able to receive an upfront loan borrowed against the potential for a settlement. Pre-settlement lawsuit funding comes from a funding source – not the lawyer. In a sense, the lawyer needs to make the case to the funding entity, just as a lawyer needs to make a case to a jury. A pre-settlement lender will not want to lend money on a case that has a limited chance of reaching a settlement that will pay back the loan. The stronger your case, the more likely you will be to receive funding.
Fees for pre-settlement lawsuit funding are either done on a month by month basis – like traditional loan – or for one flat, upfront fee. This depends on the lender and the nature of the case. Just as with a traditional loan, if your case is a riskier proposition to reach a final settlement, you may be required to pay heightened fees. It's important to keep in mind that these fees will absorb the amount of your eventual settlement so it will ultimately be lower than what is eventually awarded, so if you have a way of paying your bills without getting a fee-based loan, you should look into this option first.
The good news is that even though there are fees associated with the loan, the plaintiff is under no obligation to pay off the loan if the case is lost. This is why lenders want to make absolutely certain that the case is won. Additionally, if there is a settlement that is beneath the amount of the original loan, the plaintiff will not have to pay the difference. Loans can be as low as $500 and as high as $100,000 – of course depending on the nature of the case.
The Length of a Lawsuit
When determining if you're going to need this type of funding, you should discuss with your lawyer how long a case could potentially take. This will let you know the long-term drain on your finances, as well as the amount of fees you'll be paying out, if fees are going to be paid out on a monthly basis. As with other loans, don't take the first offer and shop around between funding sources to see if you can get a lower cost loan. This is especially important if a case is going to drag on for many years.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Getting Funding for a Personal Injury Lawsuit_576.aspx
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Author Resource :
San Francisco personal injury attorney Sally Morin has several years of experience as a personal injury litigator. To learn more about Ms. Morin, visit her web site, ww.san-francisco-personal-injury-lawyer.org, or blog, ww.san-francisco-personal-injury-attorney.org
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Keywords :
personal injury, Lawsuit, funding entity, lawsuit funding,
Category :
Reference and Education
:
Legal
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