Do you work on the “no win, no fee” philosophy?
You rarely want a lawyer to handle your case for a regular fee. You want the “no win, no fee” philosophy, where if you fail to settle or win, the lawyer gets nothing. This gives incentive, and saves you from going through financial turmoil if you cannot pay.

How long have you been a personal injury lawyer?
You want to know how long this lawyer has specifically handled personal injury cases. You want a lawyer who specializes in personal injury law, not someone who handles general cases of all types.

What cases do you typically handle?
If your lawyer has never handled a case like yours, such as a medical malpractice, take that into consideration. If you have to choose a lawyer who has specifically worked on similar cases, that is more valuable than someone who has never handled anything like it. While this does not necessarily rule out the lawyer, you do want someone with relevant experience.

How much do you charge?
How much of your final settlement – when using the “no win, no fee” philosophy – will the lawyer take? Protect yourself by having this in writing. Your lawyer is paid with the settlement money, and some charge different rates. While someone who charges more is not necessarily more experienced, often that is the case. Typically you’ll pay between 25% and 35%, depending on the length of the case, if it’s settled or not, and how complex it is.

What settlements have you given clients?
You want to know whether this lawyer has a history of winning personal injury cases, especially ones like yours. If they have actual dollar amounts, that can show you how valuable this lawyer is.

How many current clients do you have? How much time can you invest into my case?
These are two related questions: you want to know if this lawyer is overbooked, and to see how much time they can spend actually representing you. A personal injury lawyer may have a lot of experience, but lacks the time to be effective in your case.

Will you refer my case to others?
Some lawyers have whole teams, such as other lawyers and paralegals, taking an active role in your case. You do not want this to put the lawyer, who you hired based on his or her experience and ability, on the sidelines. Therefore, get upfront info on how much of the case they will be personally handling.

There is a case for not settling out of court. Sometimes the offers you get are not fair at all. Though most personal injury lawsuits do settle out of court, sometimes your best choice is to fight for proper compensation. It may mean you get more. But there are advantages to settlements as well.

You Lower Your Lawyer Fee
Your personal injury lawyer will get his or her cut only if you win (if you hire a lawyer who has a “no win, no fee” philosophy). But, if you settle out of court, lawyer fees go down. It makes sense: your lawyer spends less time in court, less time making a case, less time preparing, and therefore his or her costs go down. You can expect about 25% of your settlement to go to your lawyer. If you go to court, it can be higher, at about 35%.

You May Get More
If you settle, there is a chance you’ll get more money than if you go to court. The judge may decide for you, but not give you the amount of compensation you wanted. And since your lawyer fees will go down, you stand to save some money there. If you feel the settlement offer is too low, consult with your lawyer in order to make the decision. The point is not to always avoid going to court, but to get more compensation.

You Save Time
If you go to court, the case can take years. If you settle, you may get a lump sum or monthly payments in  matter of months. If you are in a a tough financial situation, settling may provide the money needed. On the other hand, you may be able to get much more if you go to court.

Proper Medical Coverage
If you’re getting huge medical bills, settling before court can protect you financially. Medical costs for major injuries can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. If you need specialized medical attention, a settlement may help you pay for it;.

You Get Future Financial Protection
If you cannot work ever again, you deserve a high settlement offer. Even if you only miss some work, say a few months, it can hit your pocket book. Or if you have continued medical problems, that too can hurt you financially. Whether you settle out of court or go to court and win, both protect your future.

You Can Move On
If you want to avoid lengthy court battles, medical bills you can’t pay coming in the mail, and a lot of headaches, settling allows you to move on from this accident. If you were hurt and someone else is at fault, it need not be a long process. If you simply want to move on instead of fighting court battles for months if not years, a settlement is smart.

While accidents and injuries occur every every minute of the day, it’s important to note your legal protections.  Sometimes the injury does not occur to you. That makes it important to also understand your spouse’s legal options if he or she is involved in an accident, suffers injury in the work place, suffers after a medical mistake, or for variety of other reasons.

Do you have a claim?
You don’t know if you have a claim without looking deeper in what happened, who holds liability, what injuries your spouse suffered, and finally by consulting with a lawyer. If your spouse suffers a minor injury – twists an ankle or something else with little pain and injury – the claim is likely not worth the time and effort. If you end up owing tens of thousands of dollars for medical expenses, and liability is clear, you definitely should consider your rights.

Liability can be proven in a variety of ways. If the police report shows your spouse made little to no mistakes and the other drivers holds liability, that can be a major point in identifying your right to a lawsuit. If a doctor makes a clear mistake, gives your spouse the wrong medicine or advice, and this causes injury, you have legal protections. Bad as it sounds, the more your spouse suffers, the worse the damage, and the clearer the liability, the more value the claim is. On the other hand, this is quite important: you both deserve financial compensation, much more than the basic expenses.

What are the first steps?
This all depends on what happened. You always want a personal injury lawyer to look over your case, but before that, make sure your spouse is healthy, record as many details on the event as possible, record expenses and expected expenses, and find any possible evidence.

Get Better
Your spouse may not be in the best shape to take a major role in the case. If the accident causes whiplash, a relatively common event, you might take the lead role in helping him or her get better mentally and physically.

Get Witnesses and Experts
You might also take a more active role in putting together a case. With a personal injury lawyer’s help, you can collect evidence, find witnesses, and use experts, all to make a better court case.

Who can help?
Rarely do personal injury lawsuits go to court: most are settled before that. While you may want to be in total control of the lawsuit because of your spouse’s injury, you should immediately consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer. He or she will work for any money you get. If you lose, the lawyer should get nothing. If you win, the lawyer gets a fraction, usually 25% to 35%, depending on whether the case goes to court or not. Let a professional handle the case and your chances of a high settlement are great.

You have rights, and a lawyer is supposed to protect them. But a judge may be deciding on what your rights are in any case. In personal injury lawsuits, judges decide on what you get – for the good or for the bad. How important is fair compensation?

Your Rights
Even when liability is for both defendant and plaintiff, if you’re severely hurt you have a right to compensation. If you can’t work anymore, go through pain and suffering, and your life changes greatly, you deserve something to help. If you cannot walk anymore or miss months at work, you have a right to compensation. Yes, it depends on what exactly happened. If you were hit by a car, for example, at no fault of your own, you stand to get proper financial help. Even if some liability is yours, you can and should get financial help.

Your Job
For some of us, our job defines who we are. It helps us pay the rent or the mortgage, put the kids through school, keep food on the table. A job gives us purpose. If you are incapable of working for a long time, that means you deserve all missed pay. If you can no longer work this job for any reason, that is a life changing event, and you deserve much better compensation.

Your Family
Your family can suffer too. A husband may have to stay home from work to take care of you. You may miss valuable time with your children. You might go through severe financial distress. A major injury changes a family situation greatly. And also, if you and your spouse can no longer have relations, that too is a major life changing event which can hurt you mentally.

Your Pain and Suffering
In personal injury lawsuits, it’s odd to say the more pain and suffering you get the more money you get, but that’s how it can work. Judges routinely double if not triple settlement numbers if you go through severe pain and suffering. If this is the case, you may be on some strong medicines which change your whole daily routine. In any case, pain and suffering is a major issue; and though it can be harder to prove,with a doctor and lawyer’s help you can.

Your Personal Injury Lawyer
The bigger the case, the more need there is for an experienced personal injury lawyer. He or she can do all the ground work and let you focus on your injuries. A lawyer does cost money, but without one, you stand to lose thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. With an effective lawyer, you can prove your case.

As many can tell you, dealing with auto insurance claims can be frustrating. When an injury is involved, the claim for compensation can be quite high. What you don’t know will be gone over here. Some of this you may know, but it’s a good refresher for dealing with insurance companies. Let’s focus on how settlements begin and end.

Know Liability
Liability is where you begin initially in a car accident claim. It’s often decided by police officers who file a report on fault. There may be witnesses to the car accident who can explain fault. Also, there are certain commonsense accident laws where one person clearly made the wrong decision.

Make a Claim Goal
While this may seem difficult, make a offer you won’t go lower than. This may cover your medical costs, car repair costs, wages lost, and perhaps more important any pain and suffering from the injury. Where do you begin? This is not something to do yourself. Hire an experienced personal injury lawyer — you can find one online — and go over what your offer should be. Remember, your main goal is to get more, but if you have to settle, such as when dealing with a small business, have a benchmark.

Never Accept the First Offer
Insurers never make a good first offer. Well, maybe at times the first offer is fair, but it’s rare. You should deny 99% of first offers. Even if they give you a good offer – in your mind – then you should consider countering. You can always go back to this initial number. If proof is clearly on your side, the insurer is working damage control and trying to avoid a costly court battle; use that to your advantage.

Always Demand Reasons for a Low Offer, Reply Accordingly
If you get an offer so low it surprises you, demand to know why. There are a variety of reasons an insurer may give a lower offer than you expect, even when when knowing you’ll get a low one. There may be some confusion on liability, for example. If you know why the insurer made such a low offer, your counter offer can reflect any new information and clearly show why you deserve more.

Never Lower Your Number More than Once
The final rule of thumb is that you can negotiate, but only to a certain point. If you back down to demands, you lose credibility, not to mention money. If you must, go to court. If you win any extra court fees can be included in the decision. There is nothing wrong with going to court. While it’s rare for most car accident injury claims to reach court, protect your right to proper compensation.

Knowing how to reject and counter offers is a big part of the injury process. You should never do so with an experienced personal injury lawyer. To find one, you can look online. Many offer free case reviews and consultations.

Staying positive can be hard when you have suffered or are suffering. In personal injury lawsuits, sometimes you are in extreme pain, leading to other emotional problems. How can you stay positive during this process?

Protect Your Rights
How can you stay positive if you can’t walk for six months? Or if your in so much pain the doctors keep changing your medications? While it’s not always that bad, you have to consider your rights. You have a right to proper compensation, especially if you are in a bad state. To protect your rights, hire an experienced lawyer. Make no key decisions without family and legal consultation. You may want to just hand over legal matters to a spouse.

Ask for Professional Counseling
Asking for psychological help may seem unnecessary, but many suffer from trauma, depression, and anxiety after a major accident. You may be unable to work for six months, for example, and therefore are worried about paying bills. You should always seek professional help when struggling. Who you see and why are not for the purposes of this piece, but suffice to say it can help you get through the negotiations.

Let Your Lawyer Handle Legal Matters
If you hire a professional personal injury lawyer, let him or her handle all the legal issues. You should have some involvement if you are capable, but rarely do you need to have a major role other than telling the truth and explaining your situation. The lawyer will be working for a portion of the settlement money. That gives him or her incentive to help you win. You can save time and headaches by letting a good lawyer handle your case.

Consider Negotiation
Most personal injury lawsuits end far before trial. If you are worried about losing in court, remember that if proof is clear you will almost always get some reasonable offers. While you should never take a deal without knowing the full extent of your injuries and without guidance of a lawyer, you can avoid a lengthy court battle by taking a fair offer from the defendant. And the money can be quite large. If you have to go to court, as long as liability is clear, the more pain and injury you suffer the more compensation a judge will give you.

Know This Will Pass
While a court battle may take much longer than a settlement, there is always an ending. Your case will be finalized and hopefully you can move on. If you win, you and your family’s future will be protected.   Your injuries will be covered, your lawyer will be paid, and any further damages for pain and suffering can be factored in. While a high dollar value is not the biggest thing in the world, money is an issue for the majority of us.

There is always a winner and a loser in a personal injury lawsuit, though sometimes negotiations can make the loser suffer less financially. If you lose a personal injury lawsuit, what happens next? You have to make some key decisions, especially whether or not you want to go to appeals court.

What is appeals court?
All court cases have the opportunity to go to appeals court for various reasons, sometimes as far as the U.S. Supreme Court. In short, the appeals court is an opportunity to question that the law was followed. If you won, the one you sued for damages may question that the laws were in fact followed. If you lose, you might question that the laws were followed. Note the focus on “laws”: appeals is not about right tor wrong, necessarily, but if laws were followed correctly. If you lose because of weight of evidence,  and the laws were followed, then you likely have no case. If, on the other hand, you believe the decision did not follow government laws, you have a case. This can get complex. If you have a good lawyer he or she can help you decide.

How can you win?
In appeals court you do have the opportunity to question the judges decision. Say for example you were hit by a car, suffered serious injury, and sued for personal injury damages. But somehow liability could not be proven, and you lost. The judge may have not taken into account liability laws, where even if you were partially at fault you deserve damages. In this case, you might appeal based on the interpretation of the law.

Should you retain your lawyer?
If you lost, you may or may not want a different lawyer. This depends on how effective they were, and though that may be obvious, what is not obvious is that losing does not mean the lawyer failed. Sometimes your case is simply not strong enough. On the other hand, if your lawyer seemed confused during the trial, didn’t put enough time into the case, and didn’t communicate well with you, it’s commonsense it consider a new lawyer.

What if all laws were followed?
If all laws were correctly followed, you have no appeals case and you may avoid further costs by accepting that. However, the decision should not be made without a lawyer.

What if the defendant appeals?
If you win, the party you sued, the defendant, can also appeal. In this case, it’s crucial to have proper legal representation. The bigger the settlement is, the more chance the defendant might appeal. However, rarely are settlements reversed.

Who can help?
If you’re unsure of where to go, you should consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer. If you already have a lawyer, and are happy, they are a major asset. Do not make major legal decisions without the guidance of an experienced lawyer. If you are ever unhappy with your lawyer, there is no law saying you must keep him or her.

Winning is not always about money. Winning when you’ve been wronged has much more to do with it than the big check you get. Sometimes it makes a point. Of course, in New York personal injury law, winning is definitely about financial protection. It’s important if you or a loved one has been wronged – whether it’s medical malpractice, a hit and run accident, or many others – to get this financial protection.

Who can help?
First and foremost to winning a New York personal injury lawsuit is who you hire for legal representation. There are thousands of personal injury lawyers just in New York city, and many more outside of it. However, you can narrow the field down quite a bit by years experience, cases won, and price. A lawyer is like a lighthouse ensuring a ship reaches harbor: without it, you may crash and come up with nothing.

How soon must you file a New York personal injury claim?
Each state has different time limits for filing a personal injury claim. In New York, you must file the lawsuit within 3 years of the accident. There are some variations to the laws in other states. Generally you don’t want to rush a lawsuit nor wait too long. If you file too early, and suffer further injuries after not claimed, you stand to lose some financial compensation. Of course, if you wait too long it won’t matter at all. The best policy is to consult with a doctor, then your lawyer, and when the injury affects are clear, to file a claim.

What damages can you get?
States vary again on what kind of damages you can claim, but generally the scope of the laws is very much the same. All common personal injury lawsuits – such as hit and run, brain injury, medical malpractice, traffic accident, etc – can be claimed. However, what many fail to understand is that pain, suffering, and trauma also will be compensated for. If you suffered greatly and your life changed, you may get more from pain and suffering damages than for the actual injury.

How do you prove liability?
Your lawyer’s job is to prove liability and damages. Liability is who’s at fault and why. Sometimes this is quite clear: someone ran a red light and hit you. Calculating damages is different, as you’ll be looking at how the accident affected you both in the short and long term. If you cannot work your job ever again, financial compensation should include loss of work. If you suffered major physical and mental pain, you deserve more. Proving this usually involves a doctor, expert witnesses, actual witnesses to the incident, and if any laws were broken such as running a red light.

How much will you get?
Personal injury lawsuits in all states can be quite high. It does depend on who you are suing. If you’re suing a major company with a lot of insurance, the damages could be of great value. On the other hand, if you are hit by a truck from a small business, they may have less money to give. Usually these cases need not go to trial. You and your New York lawyer will likely get an offer to cover the damages and stay out of court; this saves you time and money.

If you or a loved one have been affected by a medical mistake, you have rights. That is the first step in getting a medical malpractice settlement. Unfortunately, many make mistakes in personal injury lawsuits, such as accepting initial low offers or hiring no representation. This blog guide walks you through the key steps to getting a medical malpractice settlement.

Step 1, Understand Your Rights
Since you and your family have likely been put through some kind of nightmare, it’s important not to downplay why it happened, who’s responsible, and your rights to compensation. You put your trust in a medical professional or hospital, and they failed. Even minor mistakes such as a mistaken medication filing can have major consequences. All hospitals make mistakes at some point, but that does not mean you have no rights.

Step 2, Get a Lawyer
In medical malpractice cases, hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer is crucial to winning. Yes, your lawyer has a fee, typically 25-35% of your final settlement. But remember, most only get paid if you win, giving them major incentive. And face it, do you really want to plead your case by yourself or with someone with years experience in law and personal injury? A lawyer ensures you get proper compensation for any damages, and that justice is served so you can move on.

Step 3, Be Clear on Mistakes
Initially, you want to be clear on what mistakes were made. The aforementioned mistaken prescription is a good example where proof is very clear. It can also be a botched operation by a doctor or the wrong diagnosis.

Step 4, Proving Liability
Liability in medical malpractice can be complicated. In many instances more than one person or entity can be held responsible and sued. The logical point is that, if someone more competent had been there, would the mistake have still been made? If an experienced doctor had taken your case, would he or she have made the same mistake? That’s how liability is proven in a court of law.

Step 5, Settlement or Winning in Court
Few medical malpractice cases with obvious liability go to court. Hospitals and medical professionals will settle out of court for a number of reasons, namely saving lawyer fees and an embarrassing battle. Rarely will you have to go to court to get your money, but if your case is weak on paper, you may have to fight in court. In both of these, your lawyer is your counsel. Let him or her make key decisions so you can win.

Should you take a settlement offer, or ask for more money, or go to court? These questions are quite important in personal injury lawsuits. Usually, you want to take the settlement offer if it’s fair. There are some points to consider before you make any personal injury lawsuit decisions.

Always Hire a Lawyer
First, do not make this decision alone, or let yourself be intimidated by insurers trying to give you money. Be smart, hire a lawyer, and explain no decision will be made without legal counsel.

Know Your Lawyer Fee
In settlements, a portion of the money is your lawyer’s. This typically goes from 25% to 35%, but usually on the low end for settlements. If your case goes to court, the lawyer will do more work and get a higher amount, closer to 35%. If you settle, and your lawyer spends less time on the lawsuit, it may be around 25%. But it’s important to know how much of your money is going to the lawyer when deciding on the offer.

Income Taxes
This can get complex legally, but a settlement may affect your income taxes, with or without a lump sum payment. It’s wise to consult with a financial expert in order to understand how much you’ll get after taxes.

Insurance
If the defendant has a lot of insurance coverage, that may mean a bigger offer. If they are barely covered, that may mean a smaller offer. Sometimes you can only get so much from the responsible party.

How Much Other Money?
Is the defendant a millionaire or unemployed? Is it a small business or a Fortune 500 company? Just like insurance coverage, how much the defendant earns must be considered in your settlement offer. You don’t want too little money if they have a lot, nor try to force a higher offer from someone lacking a lot of funds.

The Defendant’s Lawyer
Often you can reach a fair settlement, but this is dependent on the defendant’s legal representation. Some lawyers may be more than willing to take counter offers, while others may not. This is mainly a job for your lawyer.

Pain and Suffering Issues
If you’ve suffered severely, it’s your right to get higher damages. You may have been more affected mentally than physically. You may be able to work but suffer through extreme pain. You also deserve more for loss of life enjoyment.

What’s your low offer?
Finally, what is your bare minimum offer? Consider using it if the defendant lacks funds. You want a number you won’t go lower than, just in case. If you are miles apart, it may be best to go to court. That’s where an experienced personal injury lawyer is invaluable.