Personal Injury Facts And Figures
Is there a minimum personal injury settlement amount?
Whether or not there is a minimum personal injury settlement amount depends on many factors. As a general rule, no, there is no minimum amount one can settle a case for. It may be determine in the course of litigation and investigation that the person who you are seeking recovery for had no liability to begin with. In that case you may want to consider doing a global settlement for zero. The person you are suing agrees not to come after you for malicious prosecution or abusive process and in exchange you agree to release that person. But as a general rule if that person is at fault, it can be anywhere from zero dollars to millions or billions of dollars depending on what the evidence shows and what the insurance coverage is or assets of the defendant have available to pay the award or settlement.
Are medical bills included in a bodily injury award?
Medical bills are always included in a bodily injury award that's awarded as a result of negligence of another. The bodily injury claim is in fact the framework of the personal injury claim. If you weren't bodily injured, you probably don't have a case unless it fell under a defamation type cause of action.
Can I ask my lawyer for a copy of my settlement check?
Yes, you should always ask your lawyer for a copy of your settlement check and most ethical lawyers will always give you a copy.
What is a proper personal attorney contingency fee?
Whether or not there is a proper personal injury contingency fee really depends upon the deal you strike with your attorney. Most good attorneys will not take on a cause for less than 33.3% pre-lawsuit filing. Once the lawsuit gets filed, then the attorney has to do a lot more work than if he would do if he was just dealing with an insurance company. So when that happens, the general proper recognized contingency fee would be 40%. However if the case has to go to trial and not just be litigated, most good personal injury attorneys are going to charge at least 45% contingency fee to take that case to trial. Taking a case to trial can sometimes take several weeks off an attorney's practice, and because of this, a good personal injury attorney will need to be compensated for that. But ultimately if the attorney is good, he is going to get you a lot more money than an attorney that is not good. So 45% of a million is much better than 25% or 20% of a hundred. That is the decision you have to make as a consumer.
Can my lawyer settle my personal injury case without my consent?
If you have an attorney who tries to settle your personal injury case without your consent, he is not only in violation of California law, he is in violation of his ethical duties as an attorney. Most other states have similar rules, but it's universally recognized, in all states, as far as I know, that no attorney can settle a case without the full involvement and consent of his client.
