Okay, I was recently in a car wreck. I have been receiving many letters in the mail with personal injury lawyers trying to take my case. However, I have had many people tell me not to even bother go through a lawyer because they keep a large portion of your money and you receive a lot less than you really should. So, what do you think I should do....... cut out the middle man or not??? and if I do cut out the middle man.... how do I go about claiming my money for pain and suffering and time losted from work??
P.S THE ACCIDENT WASN'T MY FAULT THE OTHER PARTY GOT THE TICKET.............
2007-02-12 08:29:47 · 4 answers · asked by goldy 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Contact their carrier and submit a claim for what you think your injuries, lost time from work, car rental, medications, hospital costs and car repairs are. If they refuse or offer too low, negotiate. If that fails and you think you can get a substantial amount more, get an attorney. Remember, they usually get 33% plus expenses. You can negotiate their fee with them too, before you allow them to take your case.
2007-02-12 08:36:34 · answer #1 · answered by bamafannfl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, of all cases filed on an anual basis, less than 2% end up going to trial. The reason is that lawyers, in general, prefer to settle in pretrial because that allows the client to keep more of their award than they would if the case went to trial. Even with a 100% winning case, the reporters are full of cases where a jury came back with an off the wall result, and the plaintiff went away with zero. There is just no such thing as a sure thing when trying a case.
Even if you win at trial, there is the possibility of an appeal, which is another reason to settle.
My suggestion to you is, by all means hire an attorney. You would be ill advised to try the case yourself. But, check the
attorneys record with the local bar association, and check the
records of the local court to see if he/she has been sued. And,
finally, trust the person that you hire.
2007-02-12 16:56:04 · answer #2 · answered by Jeffrey V 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, most personal injury lawyers charge 33 1/3% of what you get, plus expenses. So that means they charge you for every phone call they make, letter they mail, form they sign and so on, plus they take 33 and a 1/3 percent of what is left over after their expenses has been paid. If it goes to tril, it usually goes up to 40 percent or more.
For example, say you get into an accident and there are $500 in expenses for filing paperwork, mailing letters, making phone calls, sending faxes and what not. then, you get a 100,000 settlement. The check goes straigt to the lawyer, not to you. The lawyer deducts his $500 in expenses, which leaves $99,500.00. Assuming you didn't have to go to court, he charges you 33 1/2 percent as his fee. The attorney will get $33,133.50 as his fee, leaving you with $66366.50. Out of that $66366.50 you will have to pay any doctor bills, insurance company payments and so on.
2007-02-12 16:45:16 · answer #3 · answered by hargonagain 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hasn't the insurance company contacted you yet, with an offer to settle out of court, if they do, tripple the amount they offer, if they refuse, get a lawyer.
2007-02-12 16:37:39 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋