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.
What Is Negligence?
Negligence in Massachusetts, and in all states, means failing to act reasonably in a situation and causing injury to a person(s) as a direct result. As a Boston accident lawyer, negligence is the lynchpin of each case my office handles. Whether it be a Massachusetts car accident, slip and fall, or any other type of personal injury case, the injury victim must prove the following elements in order to win a negligence case against a defendant:
1) The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care. This means that the one who caused the injuries had a legal duty to act in a reasonable manner toward the victim. An example of a duty of care is that we all have a duty while driving not to drive into the rear of the car in front of us.
Here is a great article from the Wall Street Journal written by a doctor regarding how hospitals can make the administration of health care safer for patients. Here is the article:
How to Stop Hospitals From Killing Us
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 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