Should you be injured in an accident, and forced to file a lawsuit against the negligent party to recover damages such as lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering, there's good news and bad news.
Good News: Under the American civil law system, an attorney will take your case on a contingency basis. That is, you pay no up-front attorneys fees as you would have to in a criminal case. The attorney fronts all the costs, and the attorney is paid from the lawsuit settlement, and ONLY if you win your case. That's the Good News.
Bad News: The US court system is so backed up that it can takes several months -- sometimes even a year or longer -- for your case to come to trial. For the plaintiff who was injured and cannot work, that means going months without a pay check! In fact, it is not uncommon for plaintiffs in lawsuits to have to file for bankruptcy while they await the outcome of their lawsuits.
A new financial product is available that addresses this need. It goes by several names, including legal finance, pre-settlement funding, lawsuit loan(s), lawsuit funding, lawsuit cash advance(s) and litigation financing. Regardless of what it is called, it can be a live saver for the personal injury lawsuit plaintiff in need of cash to pay the rent or mortgage, car payment, utilities and other bills. The company that makes the lawsuit loan (while this product is not technically a loan, that is a term that is often used to describe it) gets paid from the proceeds of the lawsuit when the case finally settles.
There are several websites you can visit to learn more. One of the leaders in lawsuit loans is LawMax Legal Finance (www.lawmax.com). Their Canadian affiliate is LawMax, Ltd. (www.lawmax.ca). Other sites that offer lawsuit loans include www.lawsuit-loans-online.com, www.lawsuit-loans-on-line.com, www.lawsuit-loans-center.com, www.lawsuit-loans-central and www.lawsuit-loan-lawsuit-loans.com.
A very helpful site with a question-and-answer format that addresses lawsuit funding and lawsuit loans is www.lawsuitfunding-lawsuitloans.org. A site that promises to help visitors find the best deals in lawsuit loans is www.best-deals-lawsuit-loans.com.
For attorneys seeking information about litigation financing, there is www.litigationfinancing.com, and businesses interested in commercial lawsuit funding should visit www.commercial-lawsuit-funding.com. The trade association for personal injury attorneys is the American Association for Justice, and their website is www.justice.org.
