What Happens If You Lose a Car Accident Lawsuit?
Wanting to know what happens if you lose a car accident lawsuit and "do lawyers still get paid if they lose?" are common questions injured people have.
Nothing wrong with that. Many insurance companies refuse to make reasonable offers, and sometimes, these cases are headed to trial.
So it is smart to wonder what happens if the unthinkable happens: the case results in a loss. This article tells you everything you need to know about the risks -- and benefits -- of taking a case to trial. And don't worry, its mainly good news.
You Are Very Likely to Win Your Car Accident Case, So Don't Worry Too Much About What Happens If You Lose A Car Accident Case.
People usually wonder about this when they are considering calling an injury lawyer about their case. Basically, they want to know if they have a good case and what their chances are to win. Realistically, each case is different, and you can submit your case for review by clicking to button below.
Lawyers Usually Only Take Cases They Can Win
Virtually all injury lawyers take car accident case on contingency. That means the lawyer only gets paid out of what he or she wins for you.
This also means that if you do not win your case, then the lawyer gets paid no fees.
Do Lawyers Get Paid If They Lose The Case? No.
Since lawyers advance case costs in car accident cases, and they dont get paid unless they win, lawyers are careful. Simply, if a lawyer takes your case, it means your lawyer thinks they can win and that its a good case.
If lawyers guesss wrong too often they go out of business. So if a lawyer wants to take your case, it is very, very likely you are going to receive money for your injuries and losses.
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More Than Half of Car Accident Cases Settle Before A Law Suit Is Filed. And Almost All Of Them Settle Leading Up To And At Trial.
Depending on the skill, reputation and knowledge of your lawyer, car crash cases settle at a very high rate. In my office, for example, virtually all of my car accident injury cases settle. We settle probably 85% of them before we even file a law suit. You can read more about the one of a kind, unique way we handle cases here.
But honestly, even less experienced lawyers settle car accident cases at a very high rate. Insurance companies need to settle cases to manage their finances. They do things to reduce the value of the case, like hiring doctors to review your case to find problems in the medical records. They use these problems to talk injured people and their lawyers into taking less money or coming to a compromise in settlement.
Even if your injury lawyer and the insurance company do not get an offer you willl accept, these cases very often settle once a law suit has been filed. It is pretty common for cases to go to a settlement conference or Mediation with a Judge. These meetings allow the Judge to try to get all sides to agree on a settlement, and they often work.
If they do not, then the next step is trial.
And at trial, you can win, or you can lose. That's true even with a good case.
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What Happens If You Lose A Car Accident Lawsuit?
Its not a nice thought to have but a small percentage of cases go to trial and lose. And an even smaller percentage of cases cannot go to trial because of missing witnesses, or the discovery of a problem with the case which is too big to deal with.
The first thing you have to know if you lose a car accident case is that the case is usually over. That mean you get no money at all. Tough pill to swallow.
You might also be responsible to pay some amount of money to the Defense for their case costs, though whether a Defendant seeks to collect costs is another matter. In my experience, they often do not.
No Legal Fees If You Lose Your Car Accident Case.
Its not all bad news. If there is no recovery, then the lawyer gets paid nothing in fees. It doesn't matter is the lawyer worked 10 hours or 1000 hours or more on your case. They only get paid fees if they win.
Case Costs - Yours and Theirs
As we discussed a little bit above, you are responsible for case costs. These can include the case costs your lawyer spent to prosecute your case, as well as the Defense case costs. These usually range from a few hundred to many thousands of dollars.
However, there's a bright side here, too.
I have never charged a client for cases costs on a case that didn't work out. Most lawyers just 'write off' the money they advanced in cases costs. The lawyer loses the money but they take a credit on their taxes. This is because most lawyers know the average persona cannot afford to pay case costs if a case doesn't work out.
And as we talked a little about already, more often than not, Defense attorneys and insurance companies often choose not to pursue an injured person for their case costs, though it is a risk.
Losing an Injury Case and the Change At Appeal
If we are trying to be complete, you should know about Appeals.
If your case goes to trial and the Judge makes a mistake that affects the outcome of the trial, your case might be one that can be Appealed. That means we file papers in the Appeals Court to ask the Appeals Court to let us go to trial again so we get a fair trial.
This is rare, though. Trial Judges are competent and they do not like being reversed on Appeal. As a result, it is pretty rare that your case, if it is lost at trial, will be one that makes sense to Appeal. Less than one in 5,000 cases that go to trial are Appealed.
The other thing to think about is that Appeals are expensive and take a long time.
Never Worry About Losing Your Case
The best way not to have to worry about "what happens if i lose my car accident case?" is to hire a skilled, experienced professional to review your case. A good injury lawyer can tell you pretty quickly the strengths and weaknesses of your case. And help you better understand your chances to win.
I am available to help you. Just give me a call at 312-500-4500. The consultation is 100% free.
Or if you'd like to know more about car accident cases, maybe you'd like to read the Ultimate Guide? Take a look below.
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