Car Wreck Math
The entirety of a personal injury case can be summed up as eventually concluding with math. What I mean by that is you will have a contract with your lawyer regarding percentages at different times in the case. A big portion of your case will be about your medical bills and expenses. There will also be expenses incurred in moving your case along by your lawyer that you are required to pay back at the end. Finally, there is ultimately a settlement or a jury verdict, which is normally one of the two endings to your case. Most cases settle, and so the settlement number will be a big part of the math in determining how your case ends up with regard to the payment of your lawyer, the file expenses, the healthcare expenses, and ultimately what you will NET (or put in your pocket).
Sometimes there is not enough insurance available in a case. Either the person who caused the accident does not have any or not very much, and you may or may not have underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage. If that is true, then there are times when you have to make decisions about medical treatment, which have a related cost. For instance, if you had $30,000 in medical expenses and you anticipated the other side had $30,000 in insurance, then it would be difficult for a whole lot of medical procedures to continue to take place. Why you ask? The medical providers would have no real chance of ever being paid. If a medical provider is seeing you on an LOP (Letter of Protection), then there is a general understanding and expectation that the lawyers manage the situation so that they have a good chance, at the very least, to be paid for their services. That certainly makes sense as these doctors are oftentimes helping you
by extending their skill and expertise on credit.
The lawyer that you choose to represent you has a huge impact on the car wreck math. If their goal is to build up the medical expenses without any thought about the available limits, then you will likely get very little, if anything, in your pocket when it is over. The whole process should be about setting you up for the best outcome. If you understand what your “choices” are, then you are better prepared for a good outcome. The efficiency of your lawyer in regard to the “timing” of a resolution also plays a role. Remember, fees often change between the pre-litigation phase and the time in which a lawsuit is filed. The best effort should be made in the pre-litigation phase when the fee is the smallest. This creates chances for better outcomes. However, it is true that filing suit oftentimes yields much better outcomes. That is not in all circumstances, especially smaller soft tissue car wrecks. Understanding the approximate medical expenses as the case goes along, along with relevant insurance information puts you in the best position to make good decisions. A perfect solution for your case is the appropriate amount of medical treatment with resolution of symptoms combined with the maximum amount of money recovered.
