To say that COVID-19 has disrupted the normal course of our lives is a massive understatement. If you’re the plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit, you may have been out of work already due to a slip or fall, botched surgery, or construction accident. But even if you were still able to do your job, coronavirus quarantines may have forced your employer to close its doors. In any case, you’re no longer receiving a regular income, and money might be tight now. You know you have a financial windfall coming once your lawsuit makes it to the inside of a courtroom, but you have no idea when that will be. If you’re looking for financial support during the coronavirus pandemic, read on.
While there’s been a major downturn in the number of personal injury claims filed, your case still isn’t slated to be heard. You thought you were prepared to wait out the many months for your case to settle, but then coronavirus caused the whole world to hit the pause button. Now your personal injury lawsuit is taking even longer to resolve because of court delays or closures.
Make no mistake, insurance companies are taking full advantage of the lull. The legal process can be lengthy and expensive, and you had no way to anticipate the financial strain you’re now incurring as you wait for your case to settle. On top of regular living expenses, there are legal fees and possibly medical bills to pay. If you are unemployed due to injury, wrongful termination, or now, coronavirus closures, there’s simply no salary coming in and no way to keep up with your financial obligations.
Insurance companies know this. Their strategy has always been to drag cases out as long as possible in the hopes that plaintiffs will settle for a lowball amount out of desperation. So, with bills to pay and expenses piling up, you may find yourself asking if you should actually take the paltry settlement they’re offering just to get some money in your pocket. If you’re wondering how you can survive until your lawsuit makes it to trial, it may be time to consider personal injury funding.
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What Is Personal Injury Funding?
Personal injury funding—also known as simply legal funding or pre-settlement funding —is a cash advance against a pending lawsuit based on the monetary compensation one can expect to receive at the end of a trial. Sometimes, personal injury legal funding is referred to as a personal injury lawsuit loan, which is fine for reference purposes, but it’s not exactly the right terminology. A “personal injury loan” isn’t necessarily a “loan” at all. Unlike a loan, pre-settlement funding is non-recourse, which means if you lose your lawsuit, you don’t need to repay the money. It’s a no-risk proposition for the consumer.
Personal injury funding is a great way to receive money prior to the resolution of your case. It can be a helpful option for any plaintiffs dealing with financial strain, and a great source of income over the many months it takes for a case to make it to trial. Borrowing against your settlement can help you stay afloat financially and empower you to hold out until the end of your trial so that your lawyer can get you the best possible settlement amount.
How Do I Go About It?
Step 1: Speak to Your Lawyer
You will need his or her cooperation in order to proceed with personal injury funding. It’s important that you do your research to make sure you are fully aware of the terms and conditions of your potential funding arrangement, and your lawyer will help you to understand the ins and outs. If you’re wondering: Can my lawyer deny me from getting a pre-settlement loan? The answer is yes and no. Yes, only because you’ll need your attorney to supply the paperwork regarding your case, but no, because ultimately, any decisions are yours when it comes to your lawsuit.
Step 2: Choose a Funding Company
There are many of them out there, and you’ll want to make sure you’re dealing with a reputable one that will get you the best deal for your legal funding. Your lawyer may be able to suggest a good funding company, but you can also do some research on your own. Most legal funding companies focus on auto accident loans and personal injury loans, so you should be able to find any number of possible funders. The most important thing to consider while researching legal funding is to make sure your funding company is a direct lender and not a middleman for some overpriced broker.
Step 3: Fill Out An Application
After you’ve spoken to your lawyer and chosen a funding company, you’ll want to get the ball rolling on your personal injury settlement loans process by filling out an application. The application should be brief, and more importantly, free. There should absolutely not be any upfront fees. After your lawyer submits the necessary paperwork, the funding company will do some minor research to find out if your case has merit. If so, you will very likely be approved for legal funding and your money can be obtained within days.
Call Legal Bay to Get Your Personal Injury Settlement In Days
Waiting for a lawsuit to settle is stressful and time-consuming, but tack on further court delays due to a worldwide coronavirus pandemic, and your patience is probably at its breaking point. Since knowing the exact date your court case will settle is an impossibility, legal funding can be a great way to get the money you have coming to you without having to wait, normally within 24 – 48 hours.
Legal-Bay will be happy to discuss some financial options. If you’d like to reach out, we have an entire team of very skilled, very dedicated employees who will be able to offer all the details and answer any questions you may have. We offer legal funding for all different types of cases. The loans are non-recourse, so you really have nothing to lose. Your personal injury funding loan is only paid back once your case settles, so there is little to no risk involved.
If you’d like to know more, you can visit our FAQ page, and feel free to contact us for more information on how you can obtain a non-recourse cash advance on your pending personal injury lawsuit.
