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$41 Million Vaginal Mesh Verdict

January 31, 2019 – A jury awarded a $41 million verdict against vaginal mesh manufacturer Ethicon, and its corporate parent, Johnson & Johnson, for a vaginal mesh injury to a 57-year-old Pennsylvania woman and her husband. The verdict included $25 million in punitive damages. This means that the jury found that the woman had $16 million in damages.

The lawsuit alleged that the implanted vaginal mesh had a high failure rate and also caused permanent injuries to other women. There have been so many women with vaginal mesh injuries that there are 37,400 lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson.

Also alleged was that Johnson & Johnson did not disclose information about the failure rate either publicly or to the FDA, which the plaintiff had a right to know about.

Of course, Johnson & Johnson will appeal the verdict both on the grounds that the jury could not have come to the conclusion that they did and that the amount of the verdict was excessive.

The plaintiff’s attorneys were Tom Kline and Kila Baldwin, of Kline & Specter. The law firm previously won a $57.1 million verdict against Ethicon in September 2017 for a vaginal mesh injury case.

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Can I Get $1 Million for My Injury?

How can you determine if your injury is worth $1 million or more? First, there is a difference between how much your injury is worth and how much your accident case is worth.

The Difference between the Value of an Injury and the Value of an Accident Case

You may have a $1 million injury, but your accident case may only be worth $100,000 if the insurance policy has a limit of $100,000 and the defendant doesn’t have enough money or assets to go after.

In the last few years, we have seen many more defendants with large insurance policies of $1 million or more than we used to. This is probably due to political cries for tort reform resulting in insurance salespeople talking people into larger insurance policies.

Other factors will also make your accident case worth less than the value of your injury. For instance, you could have a $1 million injury, but if you caused the accident, you may not be able to get any money. The state where your accident occurred also has a lot to do with that. In New York, if you can prove that the other person was 10% at fault for causing your injury, you would be entitled to receive $100,000.

Many accident cases get settled for $1 million or more, but how much your case is worth depends on dozens of factors.

Some Important Factors Determining How Much Your Accident Case Is Worth

The type and severity of your injury or injuries.
The amount of treatment you had by the time your case is settled or goes to trial and the amount of treatment you will need in the future.
Your age. The younger you are, the longer your life expectancy and the amount of compensation over your lifetime.
The cost of your past and future medical treatment.
Whether your injury is permanent or temporary.
The percentage of fault of the other person or company.
The amount of insurance and assets available.
The county where your case will go to trial. Juries in one county may award more money than juries in another county.
Whether the defendant is a sympathetic defendant.
Whether you will make a good appearance and testify well.
Whether you have lost wages and how your injury will affect your future ability to earn a living.

What to Look for in a Lawyer Who Can Get You $1 Million for Your Injury

Of course, your lawyer also makes a difference. As a general rule, you should look for several aspects concerning a lawyer you want to hire for your accident.

Look for a lawyer who only does personal injury cases.
Look for lawyers who have settled cases for $1 million or more.
Hire a lawyer who really wants your case.
Look for a lawyer who you feel you can get along with.
Look for a lawyer who is willing to take the time to speak with you for a few minutes when you need to.
Hire a lawyer that will not charge you a legal fee unless they get money for you.
Hire a lawyer that will advance all case expenses for you.

Injuries Which Can Be Worth $1 Million or More

Death
Amputation
Brain Injury
Concussion
Broken Bones
Burns
Scars
Spine Injuries

All of these injuries can be worth $1 million or more but can easily be worth a lot less, depending upon the severity of the injury and the number of injuries.

A second-degree burn on your arm is definitely not worth anywhere near $1 million. However, a third-degree burn on your face can easily be worth $1 million or more.

Some Examples of Injury Values

Following are some settlements and jury verdicts my partner and I received:

$1.25 million settlement for a concussion

$1 million jury verdict after trial for a small brain bleed

$750,000 settlement for lower back surgery where the client had a pre-existing lower back injury

$567,000 jury verdict for a TMJ injury with surgery

$465,000 jury verdict for a torn meniscus with arthroscopic surgery

$300,000 settlement for an Achilles tendon tear with surgery

$150,000 settlement for a scar on a forearm

Read more about How Much Is My Accident Case Worth?

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Can I Get More Money If I Have a Lawyer?

On Average, a Lawyer Can Get You 3 1/2 Times More Money!

Cellino & Barnes advertise they can get you x times more money from insurance than you can. But any Million Dollar trial lawyer can do that. How much more money can a lawyer get for your injury than you can get on your own?

According to the Insurance Research Council, if you have a lawyer the insurance company is likely to pay 3 1/2 times more money on average to settle your case. But that’s a national average for all lawyers. A good personal injury lawyer should be able to do much better. Call one of the Million Dollar Trial Lawyers™.

Video – Hiring a Lawyer Can Get You 3 1/2 Times More Money!

The Insurance Research Council conducted expensive research studies to determine why accident victims call personal injury lawyers. Other facts revealed by the studies (available for purchase) are the following:

Reported in Injuries in Auto Accidents An Analysis of Auto Insurance Claims (Insurance Research Council study)

Claimants represented by an attorney “received more than 80% of the total dollars paid from BI coverage” (BI is Bodily Injury which is the liability coverage that pays personal injury victims)

Reported in Paying for Auto Injuries A Consumer Panel Survey of Auto Accident Victims (Insurance Research Council study)

“The most frequently cited reason for contacting a lawyer was to ensure the claim was handled in accordance with the law and that the claimant was legally protected”
“Was dissatisfied with delays in getting the claim settled”
“Was dissatisfied with the amount of money offered”

Also reported in the study is that just by speaking to a lawyer to learn your rights, you can get almost 40% more money than not talking to a lawyer. You can get a lot more by hiring a lawyer!

Just Speaking to a Lawyer Can Get You Almost 40% More Money!

Insurance Companies May Try to Get You to Take a Quick Settlement

Injured in an accident? You may be contacted by the insurance company for the person or company responsible for your injury. The insurance company will often ask you if you are thinking of filing a claim and may offer you money to settle.

You may be tempted to take a quick settlement. You may even think you’ll save the cost of hiring an accident lawyer. But unless you’re certain that you don’t have an injury, DO NOT settle your claim! Do not give a statement! Don’t explain why the accident wasn’t your fault. Hang up the phone and call an accident lawyer immediately.

Personal injury lawyers give free consultations and do not charge a fee unless they get money for you. If you have been offered a settlement from an insurance company, before you even consider taking it, call a personal injury lawyer to find out what your case is worth and whether you should consider the settlement offer.

Insurance companies don’t want you to hire a personal injury attorney! They have all kinds of tactics to get you to settle before calling an accident lawyer. That’s because they’ll save a lot of money if you don’t call a lawyer, and it’s not because they’ll save a lot of money defending the case. It’s because they’ll save many times what they will pay you.

Allstate was criminally convicted twice for practicing law without a license when they sent letters to accident victims. The letter said you don’t need an accident lawyer because Allstate will treat you as a future potential customer and offer you a fair settlement. Apparently, the letter was so successful that after being criminally convicted, Allstate did it again and was convicted again!

Can You Get As Much Money without a Lawyer?

You can almost never get the same amount of money as a lawyer can unless you have a million-dollar injury and the insurance company policy is only $25,000. Even then, you should have a personal injury lawyer make sure there isn’t any other insurance or possible defendants to sue.

Even a personal injury lawyer can’t get as much money for himself or herself without hiring another personal injury attorney. Attorney Philip L. Franckel, Esq. has settled cases with a broken nose for $50,000 but couldn’t get more than $10,000 for his own broken nose. The insurance company knew he was trying to save the legal fee and just wouldn’t offer a fair settlement. He had to call a friend to represent him.

Abraham Lincoln knew! President Lincoln said, “He who represents himself has a fool for a client”

How Much More Money Can I Get?

As an example, New York personal injury lawyers, Franckel & Plevy, LLP, who are Million Dollar Trial Lawyers™, obtained a jury verdict of $465,000 after trial for a knee injury when GEICO offered only $10,000 to settle.

In another example, New York motorcycle accident lawyers, Franckel & Plevy, LLP, obtained a jury verdict of $1 million for a head injury. The insurance company offered only $150,000. Their client tried to settle his case on his own but was unable to. If the insurance company had offered him $40,000, he probably would have taken it.

Will I Get More Than the Legal Fee?

Legal fees for personal injury cases are usually either 1/3, 40%, or 50%, depending upon the state where your accident occurred. But no matter how much your legal fee is, it’s obviously worth hiring a personal injury attorney when you can get several times more money with a personal injury lawyer.

What’s the Difference between a Verdict, Award or Settlement?

You’ll usually see personal injury lawyers post million-dollar verdicts, awards, and settlements on their websites. Many lawyers display badges on their websites like the Million Dollar Trial Lawyers Award™ or the Multi-Million Dollar Trial Lawyers™ Award. But what does the Million-Dollar Trial Lawyers logo badge mean, and what’s the difference between a verdict, award, or settlement?

What is a Verdict?

A verdict is the decision of a jury in a trial or a judge in a bench trial. A verdict in a civil case is the amount of money awarded to the plaintiff either by a jury at trial or by a judge at a bench trial. A trial is only held after a lawsuit has been started.

If the plaintiff and defendant go to trial but elect not to have a trial by jury, the trial will be held by a judge. This is called a bench trial. The most common type of cases decided by a bench trial is commercial lawsuits, while almost all personal injury trials are jury trials.

After a jury trial, the defense will often file an appeal or threaten to file an appeal in an effort to negotiate a settlement for less than the verdict amount. In my law practice, we do not negotiate settlements after a trial and will let it go to appeal. On appeal, the verdict will not be issued by another jury but will be reviewed, usually, by three judges.

Appellate courts are known for reducing jury verdicts. Consequently, the plaintiff may not get the verdict amount but may get a smaller amount. If the case goes through the appeal process, it usually ends there.

What is an Award?

An award is the amount of money issued to the injured plaintiff by an arbitrator after an arbitration.

Arbitration is like a bench trial but is a more informal, shorter (usually 1-2 hours), and less expensive proceeding. Arbitrations are sometimes held a year or two before the case would ever reach a trial date. Arbitrations are conducted by an arbitrator who is either a lawyer, retired judge, or court referee.

Arbitrations may be conducted by the court or a private arbitration company. Arbitrations conducted by the court are usually not binding, while arbitrations conducted by private companies are usually binding.

Arbitrations may be either binding or nonbinding. The amount of money issued at a binding arbitration is final and usually not appealable. Thus, there is no settlement of a binding arbitration decision.

The amount of money awarded at a non-binding arbitration is merely a recommendation. This is similar to mediation. The purpose of non-binding arbitration or mediation is to hopefully lead to a settlement of the case by focusing the demands of the parties closer to a particular amount.

What is a Settlement?

A settlement is a negotiated agreement between the parties to settle the case. A settlement is final.

What Is Included in a Trial Verdict or Arbitration Award?

The amount of money included in a trial verdict or arbitration award to compensate the plaintiff in a personal injury case includes the following:

Past pain and suffering
Future pain and suffering
Past lost wages
Future lost wages
Past medical bills
Future medical bills

Why Is Money Given to an Injured Plaintiff for Pain and Suffering

The only way an injured plaintiff can be compensated for pain and suffering is with money. While pain can be treated, it cannot be removed, and the plaintiff cannot medically be made whole again. The only way to compensate someone for an injury is with money.

Money is also given to the injured plaintiff to compensate for the actual cost of medical bills and lost wages.

What Does the Million Dollar Trial Lawyer Logo Badge Mean?

The Million-Dollar Trial Lawyer logo badge displayed on a personal injury attorney’s website means that the lawyer was the lawyer or one of the lawyers involved in the verdict, arbitration award, or settlement of a case where the amount to the plaintiff is $1 million or more. Generally, this is an indication that the attorney is experienced and a skilled negotiator.

Philip L. Franckel, Esq.

Google My Business Listings for Personal Injury Lawyers

If you haven’t already set up your Google My Business listing profile for your personal injury office(s), you need to do so immediately. Google My Business, now called Google Business Profile, is the online Yellow Pages, and it’s free! (Google also sells advertising in this section, but you can still have a free listing, and they work!)

If you already have set up your Google Business listing, read below to find out how to optimize your Google My Business listing to appear at the top and stand out from competing personal injury lawyers.

You do not even need a website for your law office to have a Google My Business listing. If you have not yet set up a Google My Business listing, first check to see if Google has already listed your business and then claim it. Google may already know about your law practice and have you listed, possibly with incorrect information. If you do not see a listing for your business, then set one up here.

Google will verify your law office address either by calling the phone at your address or mailing a code to your address which you will enter in your profile. If you choose to have Google mail your code, be on the lookout for an envelope in a few days which looks like this

Attorney Ethics Rules

Attorney ethics rules usually require that you have an actual physical office location at the address you are using for your Google My Business listing. Using a PO Box at a private company offering a street address for your Google My Business listing will likely be a violation of ethics rules.

To avoid ethics issues, we rent space in a street-level office. This gives us the added benefit of having our sign in front and space to meet with clients. You can see our office location in the Google My Business photos below.

How to Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

The free Google My Business listings can be search optimized, just like websites. To make sure your Google My Business listing can be seen at the top, do the following:

Your NAP (Name, Address & Phone) of your law office should be listed exactly the same way across all online directories
Make sure that all your information in the listing is correct
Enter as much information about your law office as Google asks for
Upload photos of the outside and inside of your law office; staff; happy clients; and award logo images
Upload videos
Add articles
Make sure you get reviews on Google

This screenshot shows the photos on one of our Google My Business listings. The photo on the right prominently shows our brand on a sign in front of the office. The photos on the left side show our brand on a tent in front of our office during a street fair; my partner interacting with people at the street fair; Million-Dollar Trial Lawyers™ logo; head shots of my partner and myself; and people wearing our branded T-shirts on the street.

Take a look at these articles for more information about how to optimize your Google My Business listing:

How to Optimize Your Google My Business Listing – MOZ
The Easy Guide to Optimizing Your Google My Business Listing – Wordsteam

Attorney Websites

The most important aspects of an attorney’s website are the following:

It must be a mobile responsive design. This allows your website to be viewed properly on any type of device, whether it is a desktop, tablet, or smartphone.

Your website should have a secure Internet connection, such as http://staging.milliondollartriallawyers.com. Look in the URL bar of your browser for https:// instead of http://. In Chrome, you will also see a green lock with the word Secure in green.

Your website should have content useful to your visitors. Ideally, it’s best to avoid the typical content seen on most lawyer websites, such as “People can be seriously injured in a car accident. Did you know that 50,000 people are seriously injured every year in car accidents?” This type of content will not convince someone to call you.

A website with just a couple of pages will not rank well in Google. The content on your website must be unique to your website.

Once the Visitor Finds Your Website, What Will Get Them to Call You?

There are only two ways that potential clients will evaluate you:

How successful you look
What other people say about you

The three ways to transmit that message online:

Brand
An impressive-looking website
Logos and badges
Reviews

Instead of Dewey, Getem & Howe, give your website the look of a brand. In the movie Founder, Ray Kroc understood the power of using the brand McDonald’s over other names and using the Golden Arches to differentiate the restaurant from others. For lawyers, a powerful method to both brand and differentiate your law firm from your competition is with a vanity phone number. We boldly brand 1-800-HURT-911 across the top of our website for New York accident lawyers. For more information about using a vanity phone number for personal injury lawyer advertising, see personalinjuryadvertising.com.

Your website should look impressive. It should look like you spent money on it. The best way to do that is to use a custom website designer. People evaluate other people by how rich they look. That’s because they just don’t know how else to evaluate other people, and if you look successful, they will hire you.

Display logos and badges from organizations you belong to and have received awards from, such as Million Dollar Trial Lawyers, Multi-Million Dollar Trial Lawyers, and Billion Dollar Trial Lawyers from MillionDollarTrialLawyers.com. You should display the logos and badges so they are visible on every page. This can be done by displaying them in a column or footer of your website.

Reviews are crucial both for your Google My Business listing and your website. Because reviews are so important, Google will use them to rank your Google My Business listing. When potential clients visit your website, they should be able to see what other clients have said about you.

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How Much Is My Accident Case Worth?

To determine the value of an injury in an accident case, there are three main questions that have to be answered first

What is the defendant’s liability?
How much insurance is available?
How serious is the injury?

What is the defendant’s liability?

This refers to negligence. Ask yourself the question, “Was the negligence of a person or company responsible for causing your injury?”

For instance, if your car was hit in the rear by another car, the driver of the car which struck yours was likely 100% negligent and, therefore, 100% liable for your injury.

In another example, assume that while visiting someone’s home, you walk up the walkway to the front door and simply lose your balance, fall, and break your hip. If there was nothing wrong with the walkway, the homeowner would not be negligent in causing your injury and would not be liable to compensate you for your injury.

However, if you tripped on a cement walkway that was broken so that one slab was higher than another, the homeowner may be liable for their negligence in failing to repair the walkway. If the homeowner left a garden hose across the front steps leading to the front door, that would also be a negligent act that would cause the homeowner to be liable to compensate you for your injury.

How much insurance is available?

Usually, personal injury lawyers don’t take cases unless there is insurance available to compensate you for your injury. This is because people and companies who do not have insurance usually do not have assets to go after.

If there is no insurance, there may be no opportunity to get money to compensate you for your injuries. Personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee which means they only get paid if they get money for you.

It is possible to go after a person’s or company’s personal assets where the amount of insurance available is not sufficient to compensate you for your injuries. However, usually, people and companies protect themselves with enough insurance, and it may be very difficult to obtain money from their assets.

Consequently, as a general rule, you could conclude that the value of your case is limited by the amount of available insurance coverage. This is only a general rule and must be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

How serious is your injury?

A value range can be determined for a particular injury or a group of injuries. If your injury is permanent, it’s worth more than an injury that will go away. Some injuries may be permanent and will not get worse, such as a scar, but most permanent injuries will get worse over time because of arthritis and/or cause additional injuries to other parts of the body.

Lawyers can search on one of the legal research websites such as LexisNexis or Westlaw to easily find verdicts for similar injuries.

One way for someone who is not an attorney to look up the value of an injury is to do a search on Google for your injury and the word settlement or verdict. For instance, search for “fractured femur settlement” or “fractured femur verdict.”

Other factors

Once a value range is determined for your injury, it may need to be modified based on the defendant’s liability (negligence) and many, many other factors, such as your age and even the county of the court where your case is.

If you believe that the defendant was only 75% at fault and that your injury is worth $1 million at full value, then your case is worth $750,000 after reducing 25% because the defendant was only 75% negligent.

A fractured femur may be worth $500,000-$1 million in one county and $350,000-$700,000 in another. This is because juries are known to award more money in some counties and less in others. Typically, jurors award less money in wealthier counties.

See more information and research about personal injury at HURT911.org

Read Can I Get $1 Million for My Injury?

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How to Negotiate Higher Settlements

How Much Do You Really Want?

I focus my thoughts on how much I would want if I had to suffer with my client’s injury, and I never lose sight of that.

Settling Cases Should Be a Game

Make settling a case a game. School was always a game to me. All throughout high school, college, and law school, I tried to see how well I could do without studying. If you lose sight of the game and focus on the money, you’ll blink, and you just lost.

When I started my law practice, settling cases became a game. I would call a couple of friends and ask them how much they thought my case was worth. My goal was to settle the case for double that number. I always demanded either the entire policy or 3-4 times more than my friend said the case was worth. On the rare occasion that I couldn’t get what I wanted, I took the case to trial.

Problem Cases

Don’t focus on the problems you have with your case. My cases don’t have problems; they only have solutions. I focus on the problems that the insurance company has, and I let them know what they are.

Insurance companies really don’t want to try cases. It not only costs them a lot of money to manage the case from start to finish and to hire experts for trial, but they have a lot more to lose. Not only could they lose their entire policy in addition to the cost of managing the case, but they are terrified of an excess verdict against their insured. To me, an excess verdict is like free advertising.

Why Is Your Case Worth So Much Money?

Insurance companies really want to pay you. You just have to show the value and, most importantly, why it’s worth what you want. Lawyers often forget the word WHY.

I just watched two TV shows about trials, 48 Hours and Dateline. On both of these TV shows, the defense lawyer strongly believed in their client’s innocence, while it appeared to me that they were obviously guilty. What I found striking was that in the clips of closing arguments for both trials and the interviews of both defense lawyers, they continually blamed the police and prosecutors and said they couldn’t be trusted but never said why.

Close to the Claims Representative

When closing to the jury, don’t be afraid to ask for a lot of money. It’s not a lot of money; it’s just a lot more than you think it’s worth based on what you think you know. You just can’t ask for a lot of money without explaining why. The easiest way to figure out how to explain the amount you’re asking for is to start thinking about how much you would want if you are injured with that injury.

When trying to settle your case with the insurance company claims representative, just pretend you’re closing to the jury.

Substituting a Previous Lawyer Who Demanded Too Little

I don’t care if a previous lawyer demanded too little from the insurance company or what he/she told the insurance company about the case. It has no relevance to anything except that the previous lawyer didn’t know what they were doing.

My first case was one where my client’s previous lawyer demanded $75,000, although the insurance policy was $300,000. All my friends thought I was crazy to take the case and said that I’ll never get more than $75,000. I took the case, and the insurance company tried to settle for $75,000.

I told the claims representative that they missed their opportunity, and I was now demanding the entire policy. I said just because some other idiot thought the case was worth $75,000 doesn’t mean that I have to be an idiot. That’s why the client came to me. I asked the insurance company why they were so stupid for not taking the offer. The claims representative was silent for a long time. After several seconds, he said, “I’ll be honest, we screwed up.” I settled the case several months later for $300,000 and found two more policies of $10,000 each that the first lawyer didn’t know about.

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How to Choose an Accident Attorney

It’s difficult for someone injured in an accident to decide which personal injury attorney to hire, but there are some factors you can look at.

Hire a lawyer who does only personal injury

The most important is that you hire a lawyer who does only personal injury. Some law firms practice in different areas, but the law firm should have a lawyer representing you who only does personal injury. Accident cases are too complicated for general practice lawyers who practice in many different areas.

While the vast majority of personal injury law firms do not have the Verified Personal Injury Lawyer™ Seal, the seal displayed on a law firm’s website means that at least 90% of the law firm’s practice is in the field of personal injury.

How do you know if your lawyer does only accident cases?

Ask the lawyer what types of cases he or she works on and how many years of experience with personal injury.

Look at the lawyer’s website. The website will show you what areas of law the law firm is practicing. The law firm’s website will provide good clues to their proficiency in personal injury and accidents.

Another method is to look for law firms advertising for personal injury and accidents. Some lawyers claim that law firms that advertise don’t do trials and are just looking for a quick easy settlement. This is absolutely not true. In fact, some of the best personal injury law firms in the US advertise on TV.

Usually, law firms handle only the type of cases for which they are advertising. This is because advertising brings a lot of clients, and it’s more efficient to handle only that type of case. Law firms with a practice in only one field are usually the only ones interested in advertising.

My law firm doesn’t advertise on TV, but we advertise in a magazine and do marketing for accident cases by setting up a tent at events. It takes time to do marketing and even more time to handle the accident cases it brings. We also need time to stay on top of the continuous changes in the law. This requires us to represent only accident victims and to run an efficient law practice using personal injury case management software. We couldn’t possibly have the time to handle any type of case other than accidents.

We issue The Verified Personal Injury Lawyer™ verification, which indicates that the lawyer’s practice is at least 90% personal injury.

Does certification mean that you should hire a lawyer?

Generally, lawyers are not allowed to say that they specialize in a field such as personal injury. However, some states are now allowing lawyers to become certified in a field of practice, such as a certified civil trial lawyer, and can then advertise that they specialize in the field.

Unfortunately, certification does not really provide much useful information about the attorney’s training, experience, and, most importantly, talent. Certification just means that the lawyer went to school for, usually, another six months.

Most personal injury lawyers with a lot of experience will not walk away from their practice for six months of school just to get certified. They simply don’t need it. Newer lawyers who get certified after law school may have gone through more school for certification but may lack the experience you need in a personal injury lawyer.

We recommend looking at the experience of a lawyer. How many years has the lawyer been practicing in the field of personal injury? Does the lawyer only represent personal injury clients, or does the lawyer handle other fields of law in addition to personal injury, such as criminal, divorce, bankruptcy, etc?

Hiring a lawyer based on negotiating a lower legal fee

While most personal injury lawyers do not negotiate personal injury legal fees, I don’t recommend hiring a lawyer just because you found one who is willing to reduce his or her fee. If I offered a reduced fee, I would have to spend less time working on the case and/or communicating with my clients. Just like with everything else, usually, you get what you pay for.

Personal service

If personal service is important to you, you may want a smaller law firm. However, the size of the law firm is not usually important to the outcome of your case. What’s important is that you can speak with someone when you have a question and that your calls are returned. Most attorneys and law firms are good at responding to new clients, but how good are they responding to questions after you hired them? Check online reviews to find out what previous clients have to say.

Reviews

You may find reviews on the law firm’s website, and you can search on Google to find reviews at Google, Yelp, and other places. Just search for “Jane Doe law firm,” “Jane Doe law firm reviews,” and “Jane Doe law firm complaint.” Speak to your friends who may have used the lawyer to see if they’re happy.

Verdicts & Settlements

Most law firm websites post their largest verdicts and settlements but don’t bother with smaller ones. Don’t let examples of large verdicts and settlements on a law firm website scare you off because you don’t think you have a serious injury. Law firms advertising large verdicts and settlements are usually interested in much smaller cases, and your injury may be worth much more than you think.

Finally

Look for an attorney or law firm which does only personal injury/accident cases;
Look at the attorney’s website;
Read online reviews; and
Hire an attorney who you like and think you can get along with.

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How Much Does It Cost To Hire an Accident Lawyer

Hiring a Personal Injury or Accident Attorney

The cost to hire an accident attorney is similar from state to state and from lawyer to lawyer. In every state, you can hire an accident attorney on a contingency fee basis. The differences include the percentage of the contingency fee and how the case expenses are charged.

Should I Have To Pay Any Money Upfront?

No. You should never have to pay any money upfront for legal fees or expenses. If you call a lawyer who wants to charge any upfront fee to represent you for injuries in an accident, call another lawyer.

What is a Contingency Fee?

A contingency fee is a legal fee based upon a contingent event. When hurt in an accident, the contingent event is whether the lawyer gets money for you or not.

If your attorney successfully obtains money for you, the contingency is met, and the legal fee becomes due. If your attorney is unsuccessful and does not get money for you, the contingency is not reached, and you will not be charged.

There are many reasons why it may not be possible to get money for you. As an example, your attorney may find that there is no insurance coverage to pay for your injuries; your attorney may find that there is no one who can be considered negligent for having caused your injury, or your attorney may have thought that your injury could become serious but later find that your injury resolved or is not serious enough for your attorney to pursue a claim.

Contingency fee percentage rates vary from state to state and from lawyer to lawyer. Some states do not allow lawyers to charge more than one-third (33.333%), and some states have higher limits, while some states do not have any limits.

Some states allow different percentages depending upon whether your case is settled before filing a lawsuit or after. For instance, one-third if settled before filing a lawsuit, or 40% after filing a lawsuit. Attorneys in some states charge 50%.

Almost every accident attorney represents accident victims on a contingency fee basis. If you call a lawyer who wants to charge an hourly fee or an upfront fee to represent you for injuries in an accident, call another lawyer.

Can I negotiate the contingency fee for my accident case?

It’s difficult to find a personal injury lawyer willing to negotiate a lower percentage, and most lawyers will not reduce their fees. You will be less likely to negotiate a lower fee in a state that limits legal fees to one-third. You will also be less likely to negotiate a lower fee if your case is not simple and easy.

Because lawyers usually have to do a lot of work for a long time and advance case expenses, lawyers are reluctant to charge less. I personally have never agreed to reduce my legal fee, even for easy cases, because I provide personal service and full-time attention to every client.

Negotiating a lower percentage could provide an incentive for your lawyer to obtain a quick settlement, even if it’s lower.

What Expenses Are There For an Accident Case?

Following are general examples of personal injury case expenses (every case is different):

Investigation of the accident can range from just a few dollars to a few hundred dollars and even over $1000.
Medical records and reports can range from as little as $25 to many hundreds of dollars.
Court costs and other court-related expenses can range from $200+ to $500.
Depositions of the plaintiff and defendant usually cost approx $500.
A deposition of your doctor can cost approx $2,500 for your doctor’s fee plus the court reporter’s fee and videographer’s fee if videotaped.
Trial expenses are usually in the range of $10,000-$50,000

When do I have to pay for case expenses?

All personal injury case expenses should be paid out of your settlement at the end of your case. When calling an accident attorney, should ask if the attorney will advance case expenses or if you will be responsible to advance any case expenses.

It’s rare that a personal injury lawyer will require a client to advance case expenses, but unless there is a significant benefit to you, you should not advance case expenses. As can be seen above, case expenses can be quite expensive, and it’s best to make sure your lawyer will advance case expenses.

While case expenses are usually charged at the end of your case, the case expenses and legal fees may be computed differently. Case expenses may be charged off the top of your personal injury settlement with legal fees computed on the net balance, or the legal fees may be computed as a percentage of the gross settlement, and then the case expenses are paid back to the lawyer.

I have seen advice on the Internet to request that your lawyer set a spending limit warning requiring the lawyer to contact you when expenses hit $1,000.00. I think this is terrible advice, and I would personally refuse to represent anyone who would require that. I would not want a client jeopardizing their case because they refuse to let me spend money on unnecessary case expenses.

Your lawyer knows best what expenses are necessary to make sure your case is successful and to maximize its settlement value. Your lawyer does not have the incentive to pay and risk their money for unnecessary case expenses.

What Happens If I Lose My Case or My Lawyer Doesn’t Want to Continue?

Usually, your attorney takes the risk for both legal fees and case expenses when a contingency fee is used. This means that you will not be responsible either for legal fees or case expenses. This assumes that you signed a retainer providing a contingency fee with the lawyer advancing case expenses. Make sure that your retainer says that you are not responsible for legal fees or her case expenses if you do not receive any money.

According to the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, one-third of personal injury cases lose. Because accident lawyers take the risk; advance case expenses without charging interest; work many hours on your accident case, and wait several years to get paid while rent and office overhead must be paid monthly, you should now be able to understand why accident attorneys charge a high percentage legal fee to represent you for injuries sustained in an accident.

If your personal injury lawyer doesn’t want to continue with your case, you should look for another personal injury attorney. If your new lawyer charges the same legal fee as your previous lawyer, you should not have to pay any additional legal fees or case expenses. Your new personal injury attorney will pay your previous attorney for the case expenses, and you should pay for the case expenses at the end of your personal injury case.

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