I recently spoke to a lawyer whom reccomended that in my case, that I (with his services) use negligence as the bearer of settling a medical issue that I've been wronged by (an unnamed company).
I will likely be injured the rest of my life, and am wondering what sort of financial gains can be attained normally...? I would have much rather not been in this situation, but I figure with the medical expenses I forsee,...I have no option.
So the questions are:
--What can be obtained monetarily in settlements of this nature (ie lifetime ailments)?
--What sort of fees are reasonable by a lawyer?
I don't expect it go to trial....
Special K
Attorney fees are about 33 % of the settlement. You can sue for pain and suffering and future medical costs. That's going to be the iffy though because you normally need to get your current doctor to testify as to what your future medical needs will be and it's very hard to put a monetary value on future medical treatment. The attorney will usually take that information and calculate what he feels is an appropriate settlement amount. You can also be more specific that states all future medical treatment related to this accident be covered. There are many variables so to get more definitive answers you really need to discuss these questions with an attorney.
xxalmostfamous1987xx
I'm sorry to hear of your situation and hope that if you choose to proceed I hope it all goes well.
It is impossible to say with certainty what type of monetary gains you would receive. If you were suing the types of things you would be seeking compensation for are things like loss of future income (take into account what you were earning prior to your injury and what you are likely to lose through your injury), loss of income (income which was lost as a direct result of the injury, through time spent in hospital etc), medical expenses, both previous and on-going if they relate to the injury) as well as on-going treatment costs that are not medical (for instance if you need to have modifications such as a ramp or lift placed in your home). Furthermore you could also sue for general damages - damages can be awarded for stress, pain and suffering as well as loss of limb (for instance people have been awarded amounts for losing an arm etc).
Now if you were seeking a settlement you would need to add up the possible value of all of the above (which is where a lawyer comes in handy as they will know precedents in your jurisidiction as well as if any of the above is capped). Then negotiations will take place with your lawyer seeking to agree with the highest amount and the other party trying to bargain it down.
Whether they choose to settle or not depends on a number of things. The amount you are seeking, whether they can afford to pay that amount, whether a possible court case would be out of the question (ie; they do not want bad publicity or they would definitely lose) or whether they believe that may win or there would be no negative impact on the business.
Without knowing which jurisidiction you are in and the exact nature of the injuries it is impossible to give you even a ball park figure.
In regards to what to expect a lawyer to charge, this depends on their fee schedule. Some lawyers may charge a lump sum regardless of what you receive in compensation, others may represent you and only take a commission if you win, or others may take a percentage of your compensation.
It depends on who represents you, are they experienced or are they relatively inexperienced (the more senior the lawyer the more they will charge), whether they will need more than one person working on the case or they can handle it singlehandedly and the amount of time it takes to complete the settlement - obviously for you, the shorter the better.
My advice would be to contact lawyers in your area who specialise in malpractice claims and ask them about their fee schedule and what type of charges could you expect.
Good luck.
Orignal From: Suing for negligence...what to expect?
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