Jarnell Stokes, an aspiring Tennessee basketball junior, was sitting in the rear seat of a car service sedan, on the way to Tampa airport for his first NBA draft workout which was to take place in Miami, when a car crashed into the driver’s side, close to where Stokes was sitting.
Fortunately, Stokes avoided serious injury, despite not wearing a seatbelt. He managed just in time to save smashing his head against a glass partition in the vehicle by shielding his face with his arm.
Even though the crash did not seriously injure Stokes, his 6-foot-8 frame was covered in cuts and bruises. The driver escaped serious injury too, as the air bag opened as it is supposed to do.
Stokes recollected that straight after the crash he was unable to walk properly and he was diagnosed with suffering from concussion. This was a great blow to him as he had been steadily improving playing for the Tennessee Volunteers, but his condition prevented him from going onto Miami. After treatment in hospital he went back to the IMG Academy. At this stage he was nursing a sore knee, neck and head and concussion so he could not practice at all.
Throughout his period of convalescence he had to miss workouts at Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Boston but he is still expected to pursue his basketball career.
It is unlikely that Stokes will be eligible to file a personal injury claim against the person who caused what could have been a devastating accident as his injuries were not serious enough. His own insurer will pay the medical expenses.
However, there are hundreds of accidents on American highways everyday and many victims do not escape serious injury as Stokes did. They may be so badly injured they will have to live with permanent disability for the rest of their lives.
If a victim of a car accident is seriously injured and it was not his/her fault, a personal injury lawsuit will likely follow. The law tries to protect its citizens by recognizing a cause of action by injured victims against negligent parties.
Many car accident victims never get as far as filing a lawsuit as they may think the legal cost will be way out of their reach. However, in an effort to allow all citizens the ability to access the court system, attorneys are allowed to offer a contingency fee arrangement in which the attorney is only paid for his services if the matter is successful.
Even though the attorney is retained without “out of pocket” expenditure, other financial hardship usually still awaits in the form of loss of earnings, medical bills, transportation and other costs.
This is when lawsuit loans can provide a lifeline to litigants. Also known as lawsuit funding, lawsuit loans provide cash to cover daily/monthly expenses as well as any other costs plaintiffs encounter.
Unlike traditional loans, lawsuit loans are cash advances on the proceeds of the lawsuit. There are no monthly payments, no credit checks and no obligation to repay the advance if the case is unsuccessful. The money is only repaid if and when the case reaches settlement or other successful recovery.