Lawsuit funding’s original mission was to provide immediate cash relief to plaintiffs who were unable to meet their financial obligations. The business found its true calling in the personal injury realm where injured parties were unable to work as before their accidents. This lack of cash flow often forced these victims to accept “low ball” settlement offers. The funding allowed plaintiffs to meet their expenses while their attorneys fought for a just settlement.
It is safe to say that lawsuit funding has met its objectives. One only need look at the growth of the lawsuit funding industry over the last 10 years as proof that the business fills a legitimate need and does so admirably.
So how can lawsuit funding help your practice? Let’s count the ways.
Plaintiff Funding
The bread and butter of lawsuit funding is funding plaintiffs living expenses while they wait for their cases to be resolved. Personal injury clients often find themselves out of work because of their injuries. Lawsuit funding provides monetary relief for plaintiffs while they wait for their case to be litigated. Essentially, lawsuit funding levels the playing field between plaintiffs and insurance companies with the financial wherewithal to prolong litigation.
There is little doubt lawsuit funding has helped millions of plaintiffs over the years and continues today. Yet lawsuit funding for living expenses is just one way it helps plaintiffs and their attorneys.
Medical Services
Although not as common as plaintiff funding, funding for surgical procedures make up the bulk of large settlement funding contracts. In many jurisdictions, severely injured plaintiffs have limited medical coverage to adequately treat their injuries leaving them in search of other options to pay for treatment.
One common option is finding medical professionals who will perform services in exchange for the attorney issuing a Letter of Protection (LOP) “protecting” the provider’s fees out of the settlement proceeds.
A more cost effective option is to use lawsuit funding to finance the surgery. We contact the provider directly, negotiate a cash price for the procedure and pay them directly. Often, plaintiffs save tens of thousands of dollars at the time of settlement.
Other Uses
Whenever there is any saleable asset, there will be individuals willing to lever that asset in an effort to generate a higher return. In the realm of lawsuit funding, the asset is a portion of the future proceeds of a lawsuit. Creative attorneys and their clients find all sorts of ways to utilize the availability of funding and lever their cases’ value. Lawsuit funding can be used to pay:
- Accident reconstruction experts
- Medical experts
- Legal experts
- Medical services including surgeries
- Filing costs
- Document preparation fees
- and more.
Settlement funding has a place in today’s personal injury practice. Call us to discuss how lawsuit funding can help your practice and thank you for your interest in the settlement funding business.
