There are a number of factors that come into play when an attorney decides whether or not to take on a personal injury case for a client. Here are some, but not all, of those factors:
1) Has the Statute of Limitations run (it is different for different types of cases)?
2) Was the client injured?
How Insurance Companies Value Personal Injury Cases
Although no two insurance companies have the same approach, there are some common elements on how insurance companies value personal injury cases. Here are some, but not all of them:
1) Is liability on the part of the insured person(s) or company clear, and if not, is there any liability at all? An example would be a a slip and fall accident claim. The insurance adjuster will closely analyze and evaluate whether or not the insured could be considered negligent in causing, or contributing to the accident.
Massachusetts Personal Injury Cases and Settlement Funding
This is a topic I deal with quite frequently when representing personal injury victims. Often, my clients will call me and tell me the accident they were involved in has financially harmed them so much, they are willing to take a loan out. For example, suppose the client was riding a bicycle and was hit by a car. The person may be really injured, racking up medical bills, and maybe lost wages, too. Sometimes the client will see an ad on television from companies that provide funding to people injured in an accident and that have an open case pending with an insurance company.
The loan is typically financed by a pre-settlement funding company. When my clients ask me about this option, I try very hard to persuade them not to take out such a loan, because the interest rates can be very daunting. Basically, the way it works is this: the pre-settlement funding company will closely analyze the client’s case, and loan application, and then decide whether or not the case is strong enough to guarantee the company will recoup their money, once the case settles.
Massachusetts Personal Injury Deposition Tips for Plaintiffs
If you were injured due to negligence, you may find yourself involved in a lawsuit. If it is you (or your attorney) that filed the lawsuit then you are referred to as the plaintiff and the party you sued is the defendant.
A deposition is a part of the lawsuit process which you may be required to undergo. Whether it be a car accident case or other type of injury claim, most depositions work the same way. Note if your case is a workers’ compensation case you will not be expected to go to a deposition.
Millions of Americans have Medicare health insurance coverage. Oftentimes however, when a Medicare beneficiary is involved in a personal injury event, dealing with Medicare can be a tedious and interminable process.
By law, Medicare has an automatic lien for any medical bills they paid out on your behalf in connection with medical treatment you received stemming from a personal injury case. There is no way to avoid such a lien, and myself, and thousands of personal injury attorneys throughout America deal with the Medicare behemoth daily.
Therefore, if you have been injured in an accident in Massachusetts, or any other state, and you are a Medicare beneficiary, your attorney (or yourself if you are pro se) will have to work with Medicare to see to it that their lien is satisfied out of any settlement or verdict proceeds. Because even if a case is concluded, Medicare can still pursue the beneficiary, and even the attorney, if Medicare discovers their lien was not satisfied.
Absolutely. The attorney/client relationship is based on a mutual and voluntary contractual relationship. The client can exit the relationship at any time. In fact, you are allowed to fire your Massachusetts personal lawyer at any time and you don't even need a reason for doing so.
I find that many people who call me and are interested in changing lawyers are doing so because they feel their lawyer is not communicating with them. If your lawyer is not calling you back and/or not keeping you updated on your case, you have the right to change lawyers. You may, however, be responsible for paying the lawyer back the expenses the lawyer put into the case.
Here are some excepts of a Yahoo article that I found through Texas attorney Bob Krafts's P.I.S.S.D blog regarding dog bite insurance claims. Here it is:
State Farm Insurance, one of the nation’s largest home insurers, paid more than $109 million on about 3,800 dog bite claims nationwide last year, spokesman Eddie Martinez said Wednesday. In 2010, there were about 3,500 claims and $90 million in payouts.
The Insurance Information Institute estimated that nearly $479 million in dog bite claims were paid by all insurance companies in 2011, spokeswoman Loretta Worters said. In 2010, it was $413 million.
Here is a great article I came across written by Maryland personal injury lawyer Ronald Miller regarding how the issue of defense costs affects an insurer's willingness to settle a personal injury case. Here is the article:
by Ron Miller on July 13, 2012
1) It compensates for the medical treatment the injury victim had to endure;
2) It covers the medical bills and liens that must be paid out of the settlement;
3) It adequately compensates the injury victim for lost wages, and if applicable, future lost wages or impairment of earning capacity;
Someone Injured Me But I Can’t Afford To Hire An Attorney!
Not to worry. One of the hallmarks of personal injury law is that the injury victim does not get billed an hourly rate. Rather, the legal fee is a percentage of the gross amount recovered for the client.
Nearly all Massachusetts personal injury lawyers – as well as personal injury lawyers in other states – take motor vehicle accident cases on a contingency fee basis. What that means is that your attorney will take 33 1/3% (or possibly more if your case goes into suit) of any settlement or judgment amount as his/her legal fee at the conclusion of the case. If your attorney advances any costs in prosecuting your claim, it is you that is ultimately responsible for any such costs. Massachusetts workers’ compensation cases are also handled by contingency basis, and the amounts are set by law.
Massachusetts Personal Injury and Workers' Compensation Law Blog