In a rather sad case last Thursday, an 88 year old woman was indicted by a grand jury in Texas for causing an accident involving personal injury. The charge could result in a third degree felony conviction. The woman, a well known local environmentalist, was accused of hitting an attorney while he was out riding his bicycle on March 16th last year. He received a broken ankle and two broken vertebrae from the collision. Although he says that he has recovered from the accident, it has been a long process and he is only “90%” recovered at present.

The indicted 88 year old, gave herself up at the Nueces County jail several days after the crash took place. Her son had apparently read the news about the hit and run incident and had noticed that there was some damage on his mother’s car which could have come from the collision with the bicycle.

Her former attorney said that she did not realize she had hit a bicycle and in fact thought she had hit a trash can. He said his client had eye and vision tests just five days before the accident and had been waiting for results. Her license was under medical review at the time of the accident. The attorney said his client had been receiving medical treatment for a problem with her right eye – the eye that would have been used to spot the cyclist.

The attorney who was injured in the accident said he was fearful of getting on to a bicycle again and had not been on his bicycle since. He said that he would like to see the streets safe for cyclists, pedestrians and runners.

While waiting for a personal injury lawsuit to be settled, there will be medical expenses to pay, loss of income, and ongoing expenses. Fortunately, settlement loans are available to fill this financial gap.

For anyone who is injured, whether while out walking their dog, crossing the road or cycling along at the side of a highway, it can be a long wait for compensation if their injuries are anything more than a few scratches or bruises.

Many pedestrians and cyclists are particularly exposed to injury because they have little protection. The fact many drivers claim they “didn’t see” a cyclist or pedestrian complicates the whole picture as they may not stop at the scene of the accident. Unless there are reliable eye witnesses who will provide accurate information about the driver, a lawsuit’s outcome may depend on the “hit and run” driver being found by the police.

Lawsuit Funding Bridges the Gap

Long periods of waiting for lawsuits to reach settlement can be an expensive proposition.  Without cash flow on a monthly basis, many plaintiffs who are unable to work because of injuries find themselves in a financial bind. Victims of personal injury may face real financial hardship unless they are able to arrange a pre-settlement loan, also known as lawsuit funding.

Lawsuit funding can help provide medical treatment and pay the bills until a settlement is reached. These “lawsuit loans” are technically NOT loans in the traditional sense of the word.   A typical loan implies repayment at some point in the future.  

Settlement funding is called “non-recourse” funding because repayment is not guaranteed.  What this means is that if the lawsuit does not settle, the lawsuit cash advance is not repaid at all.  Lawsuit funding agreements are structured as a sale of a portion of the proceeds of a lawsuit.  If there are no proceeds, then the funding contract is worthless.

The benefit of lawsuit settlement funding is that it provides liquidity to litigants, whether the subject matter of the lawsuit is personal injury or other civil legal proceeding.  There are no restrictions on the funds’ use and can be repaid at any time prior to the lawsuit’s settlement or ultimate recovery.