Massachusetts personal injury lawyers are, like all Massachusetts lawyers, required to adhere to certain ethical requirements. One of these is the prohibition against attorneys having a financial interest in a case. For example, personal injury trials are costly, sometimes extremely costly, and many clients do not have the money to pay for litigation expenses. Some of these expenses include court filing fees, depositions, the costs of experts to testify at trial, etc. Most times the lawyer will advance these costs on behalf of the client. And that is perfectly fine and ethical.
Ultimately though, it is the client who is responsible for these costs. This means that if your Massachusetts personal injury case eventually settles or is successful at trial, it is you who pays the lawyer back the court and trial expenses he or she advanced. Therefore, is is permissible for your Massachusetts personal injury lawyer to advance monies to try your case, but be aware that you will be ultimately responsible for these expenses in the end if your case is successful.
Please contact me with any Massachusetts personal injury questions you may have.
Tags: Massachusetts personal injury and Massachusetts attorney ethics