Car Accident Lawsuit Funding
Car accidents (a.k.a. traffic accidents or auto accidents for short) are the most prevalent cases we see. This is not surprising given there are on the order of 4 to 5 million car accidents in the United States each year.
Both drivers and passengers in car accidents are eligible for car accident lawsuit funding as long as they are not responsible for having caused the car accident. A passenger in the car that was not responsible for causing the accident can make a claim against both the insurance of the car they were riding in as well as the car that caused the accident. A passenger in the car that caused the accident can make a claim against the insurance of the driver that caused the accident.
The types of injuries that qualify for car accident lawsuit funding include (but are not limited to) the following
- herniated spinal disks
- bone fractures
- shoulder injuries (e.g. rotator cuff and torn muscles)
- knee injuries (e.g. torn meniscus, torn ligaments)
- burn injuries
- eye injuries
- head injuries
- an injury requiring surgery
- loss of body part (e.g. amputations)
- injuries resulting in death
- soft tissue injuries (the advances on soft tissue injuries are usually smaller if these are the most serious injuries in the case because the overall case value is lower)
The following types of car accident cases may qualify for car accident lawsuit funding. However, you cannot have been responsible for causing the accident
- car accident where your vehicle was hit from behind while stopped due to traffic signs, traffic signals, or traffic conditions
- car accident where your vehicle was hit as the result of a “chain-reaction”-type accident
- car accidents where your vehicle was hit head-on
- car accidents where your vehicle was “T-boned”
- car accidents where your vehicle was hit by a truck or bus
- car accidents that occurred while you were doing your job (third-party workers’ compensation)
- car accidents where your were a passenger in a vehicle that was hit under any of the above situations
- car accident caused by design or manufacturing defects in the vehicle or a part of the vehicle (e.g. tires)
The following cases do NOT qualify for car accident lawsuit funding.
- Cases where you were responsible for causing the car accident
- Cases where the attorney is being paid by hourly retainer, or you are acting as your own attorney
- Cases where the settlement will be paid by a person rather than an insurance company
- Cases where the plaintiff (injured party) is a minor (under 18 years of age)
The amount that can be advanced is limited to 10% of known insurance coverage. If the the insurance coverage for a specific case is not known, then the minimum liability coverage required by the state in which the accident occurred is used as the insurance coverage number. Car accidents where the car was hit by a commercial vehicle will usually have higher minimum insurance numbers. Claims can also be made against your uninsured or under insured coverage (if you have this coverage) when the defendant does not have adequate insurance to compensate you for your injuries and resulting treatment from the car accident. You can also make claims against your uninsured or under insured coverage in hit-and-run cases where the defendant was never identified.
The documents we need to see for car accident lawsuit funding include the following
- attorney/client retainer agreement (optional)
- police report
- complaint document (if a lawsuit has been filed-most car accident cases are settled via negotiation before a lawsuit is filed with the court)
- medical records (e.g. emergency room reports, X-ray reports, MRI reports, CAT scan reports, surgical reports, doctors narrative reports describing status of injuries)
- proof of defendant’s insurance
Several basic questions about lawsuit finding are answered on the page FAQ’s About Lawsuit Funding.
If you have additional questions, or if you would like to learn if your lawsuit qualifies for lawsuit funding, please click here to contact us, or