Lawsuit Finance Blog

I read today, with interest, an article entitled "State Farm Settles Katrina Case in Mississippi". As most, if not all, of you know, Katrina was the powerful hurricane that slammed into the Gulf Coast on August 28, 2005, almost 3 years ago, devastating the cities of New Orleans, LA and Biloxi, MS and others smaller Gulf Coast cities and towns. It destroyed numerous homes and left thousands homeless. Many of these victims were insured with State Farm Insurance, whose claims handling policies have been rightly singled out for significant criticism.

The article tells the story of Norman and Genevieve Broussard, whose home was destroyed by Katrina. The couple had to hire attorney Jack Benton, sue State Farm, negotiate without conclusion, go to trial, win at trial, wait out the inevitable State Farm appeals to higher courts, and, finally, settle for a "confidential" amount, almost 3 years later, before a second trial was to take place. Keep in mind that this is not an adversarial proceeding; State Farm was the Broussard's own homeowners insurance company. You know, "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There", and all that. "Where?" you might ask. Sadly, this is how State Farm and other carriers of its kind handle their insureds claims. Homeless victims, who have lost everything dear to them are forced to litigate their claims in a legal system that insurance companies know will take years before they are forced to compensate now-desperate victims, while the insurance companies fatten their bank accounts.

The lawsuit finance industry provided non-recourse lawsuit cash advances to countless Katrina victims, while they awaited settlements of their homeowners insurance claims lawsuits to resolve or settle in their favor. Lawsuit financial assistance was provided for temporary shelter, groceries, clothing and other necessities of life while the lawsuits were being delayed by the despicable insurance companies. There were no credit checks or credit hits; lawsuit financing was available to reduce the financial stress of the victims and prevent them from settling early and cheap. No payments were required; the litigation finance companies only got paid if the cases were resolved in the homeowners' favor. Lawsuit Financial Corporation provides this service, not only in catastrophic homeowners claims lawsuits against insurance companies, but in Auto Accident lawsuits, Premises Liability lawsuits, Medical Malpractice lawsuits, Wrongful Death lawsuits, Construction or Workplace Accident lawsuits and many more types of litigation. For a free analysis of your lawsuit finance situation, call us, toll free, at 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit us on the web at www.lawsuitfinancial.com

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Today, I came across an interesting article entitled "Fired State Worker Gets Job, Cash Settlement". It is about a former Cabinet worker in former Kentucky Governor Ernie's Fletcher's administration. Apparently, Sarah Missy McCray was a victim of retaliation because she was a whistle blower in a hiring practice merit system scandal during Fletcher's administration. McCray will receive $500,000 and a $62,500 per year job in current Governor Steve Beshear's administration. Gov. Beshear indicated that the case was "one of the most egregious examples of how many state workers came to work each day fearing for their jobs. It left us with the task of cleaning up the mess created by the previous administration."

The lawsuit alleged that former Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert retaliated against McCray for testifying before a Franklin County grand jury involved in the investigation. It alleges that Nighbert refused to approve McCray's job performance bonus recommended by her supervisor. Fletcher issued a blanket pardon for those indicted, and all charges against him were dropped in an agreement with the attorney general's office in which he admitted serious evidence of wrongdoing in his administration.

Qui Tam Litigation or "Whistle blowers" Litigation is quite complicated and specialized litigation. Often, as here, it results in job loss and long-term litigation. This combination can be devastating to the aggrieved litigant as he/she is usually fighting a well-financed corporate defendant (or "city hall" as was the case, here) without employment and without adequate financial support. Lawsuit Financial is one of the few lawsuit financing firms with the expertise to evaluate and provide lawsuit funding in Qui Tam lawsuits. Lawsuit financial support is also available in more tradtional cases such as Auto Accident Cases, Premises Liability Cases, Medical Malpractice Cases, Wrongful Death Cases, and others. For free information about whether your case qualifies for lawsuit funding, please give us a call, toll free, at 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit us on the web at www.lawsuitfinancial.com

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Lawsuit Financial is very pleased to announce the publication of the article "Litigation Funding- Is it for Your Case? written by company President and Chief Counsel, Mark M. Bello. The article has been published in the law practice section of Findlaw.com, a Thompson Reuters legal publication and research website. "Litigation Funding- Is it for Your Case?" talks about using lawsuit financing as a strategic tool to obtain higher settlements and verdicts in personal injury litigation cases. It cites actual Lawsuit Financial case funding examples of how lawsuit financing assisted real plaintiffs in obtaining higher awards in their litigation.

Lawsuit funding is available for injury victims in Auto Accident cases, No-Fault Cases, Wrongful Death Cases, Premises Liability Cases, Medical Malpractice Cases, Product Liability Cases, Airplane Crash and Train Crash Cases, Employment Discrimination and Wrongful Discharge Cases, and more.

The link to this informative article can be found by clicking here. It is very interesting reading. For a free analysis of your case funding situation, please call us, toll free, at 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit us on the web at www.lawsuitfinancial.com

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A "last-minute" $25.3 million partial settlement of a multi-million dollar fatal fire lawsuit was reached on April 22, 2008 in Cook County (Chicago) Circuit Court. The case stems from a 2003 fire at the Cook County Administration Building and allows seven defendants (including Cook County) to avoid a very risky civil trial that is set to begin next week. The blaze killed six and injured 16 office workers. The City of Chicago, a building contractor, and the building management company are still in the case and did not participate in the settlement.

There are 22 lawsuits pending for the injured and the dead, many of whom were trapped in a smoke-filled stairwell with self-locking doors. The lawsuits allege serious mistakes and failures by firefighters and city 911 operators.

The other settling defendants were companies that worked on building and/or fire systems designs. Negotiations continue with the remaining defendants with a trial looming next Monday.

The average person might think that a case such as this, with so much money at stake, with staunch denials of wrongdoing, and multiple plaintiffs and defendants, would not be a good candidate for lawsuit funding. While this is complicated litigation, to be sure, it is an excellent candidate for lawsuit financing for both the attorneys and the unfortunate litigants and their families.

Most multi-party litigation, especially when pursued, for serious injury and/or wrongful death, against large corporations, municipalities, and billion dollar insurance companies, is extremely expensive and time-consuming. Lawsuit financing is available to assist "David" law firms in fighting these "Goliath" companies. Cost of litigation lawsuit funding is available as a "practice" advance or on a case by case basis. In this case, for instance, if called upon, Lawsuit Financial would have acted as a funding "partner", making certain that all financial needs for the pursuit of all victms' rights were covered. The handling attorneys would be able pursue the case, full throttle, without the added burden of financially managing it. In addition, if a case of this magnitude became a financial burden for the practice, lawsuit funding could be available to assist in paying office overhead whille it is being pursued to its just conclusion. With a potential multi-million dollar recovery a good possibility, the handling attorney needs to be certain that he is well-funded for the battle ahead. He needs to focus on the case, not how to fund it, and that is where litigation funding can be a strong and supportive ally.

As to the litigants, this tragedy occured in 2003, almost five long years ago. People were serious injured and several lost their lives. They and their families have probably faced financial devastation. Lawsuit funding is available to assist all victims in these circumstances with necessities of life lawsuit financing. This lawsuit financial assistance is based only on the merits of the case and not on credit standing. Lawsuit Financial is institutionally funded, so case size and multiple parties do not prevent all litigants and attorneys involved from receiving the lawsuit advances they may desperately need. Repayment would occur if, and only if, recovery was made in the case.

If you have been seriously injurued, or a loved one seriously injured or killed in a tragic accident such as the Chicago high-rise fire and are in need of lawsuit financial assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us for a free analysis of your situation. If you are an attorney who needs confidential financial assistance to handle a case of this magnitude, please call on our litigation funding specialists to assist you in handling the case financing or lawfirm financing. The call and the advice are absolutely free. Call, toll free, 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit us on the web at www.lawsuitfinancial.com.

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The families of victims in an April 2, 2008 bridge scaffolding collapse in North Little Rock, Arkansas, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Dallas County. Juan Manuel Flores and Manuel Gonzalez were part of a crew of workers that were installing a water main for the Central Arkansas Water utility. The scaffolding collapsed, sending them and a third man to their deaths. The construction accident lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and medical, funeral and burial expenses.

The lawsuit alleges that Oscar Renda Contracting Inc. of Roanoke, SAC Manufacturing Inc. of Longview and its project supervisor, Charles Jackson were negligent because they knew the work platform was faulty, hazardous and dangerous, and because they failed to determine its load capacity. Clay Miller, attorney for the plaintiffs, said that defendant Jackson had left the work site to obtain some equipment and, when he returned, the scaffold had failed. At a news conference to announce the wrongful death litigation, Miller questioned Jackson's ability to oversee the work site, indicating that he lacked either training or judgment.

Miller claims that the system's design was inadequate because a "thin" piece of steel was the only support for a roughly 15,000-pound load that included a 45-foot platform. "A half-inch of metal was all that was between these men and the river."

OSHA is also investigating, as the the wrongful death lawsuit also claims that both companies violated federal safety standards.

This tragedy seems to be another example of how the implementation of simple and inexpensive workplace safety procedures would save the lives of countless workers. Those who cry for "tort reform" or shout "lawsuit abuse" should think about advocating for workplace safety instead. Corporate profit should never enjoy a priority position over safety; in many workplaces in America and abroad, it absolutely does!

The unfortunate families of the victims of this workplace tragedy seek medical expenses, funeral and burial expenses. They have lost the family member who was principally responsible for their support. Situations like this, if there is no life insurance, savings, or other funding sources, are excellent candidates for lawsuit funding. An experienced lawsuit finance company executive will evaluate the prospects for case success and potential case value and fund an amount that comfortably fits within that value. The primary objective in strategic lawsuit financing is to remove financial pressure to settle early and cheap and to assure that the victims of a tragedy like this receive the compensation they deserve. This is a function of proper underwriting.

Lawsuit Financial has more combined legal and lawsuit finance experience than any company in this industry. We have underwritten thousands of these transactions and represented thousands more. Litigation funding is available for auto accident cases, premises liability cases, medical malpractice cases, product liability case, construction accident cases (like this tragic example), airplane crash and train crash cases, and others The call and the advice, as always, are absolutely free. Call 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit www.lawsuitfinancial.com on the web.

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Robert Young was returning home from a hunting trip in Arkansas, in January of 2002, when he was killed in an airplane crash. The airplane crash lawsuit his family filed in West Caroll Parish has been completed, over six years after the accident, with a jury verdict of $4 million. The jury, after a one-week trial, ordered the Beechcraft Baron twin engine plane's engine manufacturer, Teledyne Continental Motors, to pay the award to the survivors of the deceased. It is one of the largest civil verdicts in West Carroll Parish history.

Mr. Young's family claimed that a faulty engine, manufactured by Teledyne, caused the fatal crash. Young was 57 years old, the owner of an electric company, and an active member of the community. He was the sole occupant of the aircraft. Louisiana attorneys Daniel Barks, Richard Fewell Jr. and Dion Young represented Young's family in the wrongful death lawsuit.

This case underscores the need for and power of lawsuit financing in serious injury and wrongful death litigation. This case took six years for a verdict to be rendered. It is unknown whether the jury verdict will be paid or appealed; even if the verdict is paid, six years is a long time to wait for compensation for the loss of the person principally responsible for a family's support. Airplane crash lawsuit funding is available to families like the Youngs, who, because of corporate negligence, lose that financially supportive loved one.

Pre-settlement lawsuit funding is often used to pay mortgage payments, car payments, groceries, rent, tuition and other necessary expenses caused by death or serious injury. Pre-settlement funding is also an important litigation tool for the lawyer and his/her client, because the legal system can often work slowly, as it did here, and insurance companies and well-funded manufacturers take full advantage of these delays, trying to slow down the process and persuade plaintiffs to take pennies on the dollar. A well-placed non-recourse cash advance will often prevent the plaintiff from being forced to settle early and cheap.

Lawsuit Financial Corporation has more combined litigation and litigation funding experience than any other company in the lawsuit finance marketplace. Even if you are considering lawsuit funding from another company, call us for a free consultation regarding your lawsuit and your lawsuit financial situtation. The call is free and the advice could be case-saving.
Call 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit us on the web at www.lawsuitfinancial.com.

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A U.S. District Court jury in Missoula awarded a Bigfork woman $5.3 million in damages earlier. This was the largest bad-faith insurance verdict in Montana history.

Samantha Chilcote, 32-year-old salmon ecologist, suffered permanent brain injuries in a head-on automobile accident. She was not the at-fault driver and the at-fault driver's insurance limits were inadequate compensation.

Fortunately, Chilcote, a doctoral student at the time of her accident, was covered under her family's insurance plan with Fireman's Fund, for a total of $1.5 million in underinsured motorist benefits and $15,000 in medical pay. However, the company refused to pay the underinsured motorist claim and paid the med pay claim in January 08, five years after the accident.

The jury found that Fireman's Fund acted with "actual malice" and awarded $3.5 million in punitive damages and $1.8 million in compensatory damages. The jury also awarded $35,000 for Fireman Fund's violation of the Montana Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Chilcote said: “I was completely overwhelmed and I'm really thankful to the jury for doing the right thing, and to my legal team for standing behind me. It has been a really long, long hard road.”

Her attorney, James A. Manley, said: “This insurance company went for five years before it paid any of my client's medical expenses. “They had absolutely no basis for not paying them. She is one of those people who did everything right, and would never file an exaggerated claim. Yet the insurance company argued that she was making this up.”

The article attached to this blog post recites Fireman's deplorable adjusting and payment avoidance tactics. The handling adjuster accused her of faking a seizure. To this day, she continues to suffer from a short-term memory defect and is still undergoing treatment for her brain injury. Chilcote also said "It was a classic case of David and Goliath, where they are just trying to wear you out. I just really hope that the jury's decision sends a clear message to insurance companies everywhere.”

This all-to-common situation is a perfect candidate for assistance from a reputable lawsuit funding company. While bills and expenses mounted for the Chilcote family, it is unclear whether she availed herself of financial assistance from a company like Lawsuit Financial, which provides financial assistance to injured and disabled litigants involved in pending litigation because of their injuries and/or disabilities. A series of well-placed non-recourse lawsuit advances can often ease the financial pressure to settle early and cheap. For a free analysis of your case funding situation, call, toll free, 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit us on the web at www.lawsuitfinancial.com. We are standing by, ready and willing to help you achieve better results in your litigation.

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The Michigan Court of Appeals has crossed into The Twilight Zone. In the area of premises liability, hidden dangers are now, also, open & obvious, and Michigan Premises Liability law has gone from a sensible comparative negligence standard to, almost, complete immunity for premises owners.

In most jurisdictions,generally, property owners who "invite" you onto their premises have a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect you from harm caused by a defective condition. After all, they know (perhaps own) the property and are familiar with it; you, the visitor are not. Thus, they bear the simple responsibility to keep their premises "safe". Fair? Fair.

Over the past decade or so, the concept of "open & obvious" has entered into Michigan jurisprudence, with a vengence. A judge determined that land owners were protected, if upon casual inspection, the visitor could detect the potential danger. In other words, "watch where you are going". Sounds somewhat reasonable as a comparative negligence standard, but it has now become a "drop dead" defense to liability.

Most recently (4-15-08 to be precise), a Michigan’s Court of Appeals panel, in Baker v Tendercare, ruled that business owners have, virtually, total immunity from premises liability lawsuit liability. This has been coming for years, as opinion after opinion eroded the rights of injured Michigan citizens. The Baker case involved a woman visiting her mother at defendant's nursing home. She exited her car and started walking toward the home; she stepped on what appeared to be a harmless crack in the cement. However, the concrete was in bad shape and crumbled beneath her, causing her to fall, hit her head and break her wrist.

She sued Tendercare, which moved for a pre-trial dismissal based on the the open & obvious doctrine. The Court said, in dismissing the case, the following (I kid you not!):

"Just because the defect is hidden does not also mean that it is not
discoverable by the average user".

Read it again:

"Just because the defect is hidden does not also mean that it is not
discoverable by the average user"

Thus, landowners have no duty to protect you from hidden dangers, even if they know or should know about them, because you didn't get down on your knees after each step and carefully inspect for hidden defects that might make you fall. Why pay for insurance at all? Oh, that's right! Insurance companies love taking our money in premiums, they just don't like paying it out in benefits.

Michigan residents: Rise up! Contact your state representatives and ask them to sponsor a bill to make premises liability law fair in Michigan. Every other area of the law is suject to a comparative negligence standard except Premises Liability. Ask your State Representative to apply straight comparative negligence to Premises Liability litigation.

Lawsuit Financial Corporation is the leading lawsuit funding company in Michigan. We provide non-recourse cash advances in all Personal Injury cases. Call us, toll free, at 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit us on the web at www.lawsuitfinancial.com.

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The Washington State Corrections Department has agreed to pay $850,000 to settle a lawsuit over a fatal auto accident occurring in Seattle in 2004. A 55 year old woman died when her Honda collided head-on with a large SUV driven by an offender under state supervision. Investigators determined that the offender was drunk. The offender was previously convicted of vehicular homicide and is serving a nine-year sentence for his crime.

While officials contended that he was meeting the conditions of his supervision at the time of the automobile crash, the lawsuit plaintiffs asserted that the state risk assessment was faulty. Apparently, the family and an obviously skilled plaintiff's attorney gave the state 850,000 reasons to finally agree.

This 2004 fatal auto accident lawsuit was settled in 2008. The case took almost four years to resolve successfully. If the woman was the family breadwinner, a fatal auto accident would have very likely caused significant financial hardship for her surviving family members. Lawsuit funding could have been used to bridge the significant financial gap between the date of the accident and the date of the receipt of settlement funds. Lawsuit financing was, apparently, not utilized by this unfortunate family. Lawsuit Financial could have provided one or several non-recourse litigation cash advances against the pending litigation, if the need for such pre-settlement funding had existed. Periodic lawsuit cash advances would have taken away the financial pressure,brought on by the accident, to settle the case early and cheap. Had the lawsuit failed, the family would have owed nothing for the lawsuit funding and could have kept the advanced lawsuit cash free of charge. Lawsuit Financial is a premier provider of lawsuit funding in the United States. Call 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) to discuss your case funding situation, or, visit us on the web at www.lawsuitfinancial.com

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Diana Levine won her Drug Liability Lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Wyeth. Diana was a muscian who lost her arm to gangrene when she was injected with a Wyeth developed drug. Now, her own government has partnered with Wyeth to challenge her victory in the US Supreme Court. Why? Because your President and his well-heeled pro-business cronies want to make the extremely flawed FDA (Food & Drug Administration) the supreme commander and chief of all things related to drug development and safety. They don't just want to see Diana Levine get first maimed, then totally screwed; they want to screw the entire US drug ingesting population and create national immunity for the drug industry. They want the US Supreme Court to rule that a drug, if FDA approved, is immune from liability, anywhere in the US. This, despite the fact that the FDA's own advisory board found, last year, that it was "underfunded and understaffed" and was "putting US consumers at risk". Did you know that drug companies actually pay significant dollars to the FDA to review their application quickly? They have also spent tens of millions in federal lobbying efforts. What a system!

The threat of an expensive lawsuit has long been the only "check and balance" against the trampling of citizen's rights by large corporate concerns. Right wing legislators, lobbyists, and jurists have been trampling on those rights for years under the fiction that there is "lawsuit abuse" in this country. Our citizens are in danger of losing all of their civil liberties and seem to care less!

Right now, the only state in the US that gives drug companies a total pass on liability is my own state, Michigan, where "tort reform" has virtually destroyed the public's right to pursue tort litigation in auto accident cases, premises liability cases, medical malpractice cases, government liability cases, and other types of product liability cases. None of these very extreme cases of reform prevent all litigation like drug immunity does. And the result? Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (who this right wing, pro-business legislation pandered to) moved out of the state, taking thousands of jobs with it. These people are despicable! MIchigan citizens are suffering greatly from this form of corporate welfare. If the Supreme Court votes the way the President wants them to, I strongly suggest that you write your federal congress persons and senators and tell them to legislate against federal drug immunity. Call Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, MIchigan's Senators and ask them how total drug immunity has worked in Michigan. I also suggest that you consider voting Democratic in November, so that the next Supreme Court Justice appointed is one who will champion the Constitution and all of the people, not just the wealthiest corporations among us.

Lawsuit Financial Corporation provides lawsuit funding for litigants while they wait for their cases to resolve. The company is also involved with state and national justice organizations to promote justice for accident victims. For more information or a free analysis of your case funding situation, call 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit our website at www.lawsuitfinancial.com

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Lawsuit Funding can be a valuable tool for attorneys and clients and, if used correctly and strategically, can be a revenue enhancement tool. One example I like to use to demonstrate this point is the case of an Indiana woman that Lawsuit Financial provided legal funding for in 2005. The woman suffered a very serious closed head injury in an auto accident and was unable to work. She had missed several mortgage payments and the bank was threatening foreclosure. While this was happening, the insurance company contacted her attorney and offered $250,000 on the case. Her attorney thought the case was worth $1 Million, thought he could achieve that amount or close, thought he could do so within a year, and advised her to reject the offer. She told him to accept the offer; after all, she was losing her house. Her attorney called Lawsuit Financial.

After reviewing appropriate case materials, Lawsuit Financial approved an initial lawsuit cash advance of $15,000 which was sufficient to pay up the mortgage and other immediate debt. The woman, on the advice of her attorney, rejected the $250,000 offer. During the course of the litigation, Lawsuit Financial provided lawsuit financing two more times; at the end of the case, she had received a total of $30,000 in lawsuit funding.

Nine months after receiving the $250,000 offer, the case settled, for $950,000. Lawsuit Financial was a substantial reason why there was a $700,000 increase in final case settlement proceeds! The client's upside, after attorney fees was over $400,000. The attorney made an additional $233,000! Lawsuit Financial made a nice return on its investment and received the added pleasure of saving someone's house and assuring that she was able to achieve a fair result in her litigation.

This true story is a graphic reminder of the power of litigation funding in the hands of a savvy attorney. Lawsuit Financial will answer your lawsuit financing questions for free. The call is toll free, 1-877-377-SUIT or you can visit the website at www.lawsuitfinancial.com. The legal funding advice may not be "priceless", but it could be worth $700,000 or more! Do the math for your case funding situation.

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Some of my fellow trial lawyers may not be aware of some recent regulatory (and welcome) trends in the litigation finance business. In 2005, then New York Attorney General, Elliot Spitzer (yes, that Elliot Spitzer), mandated, in an agreement with several lawsuit finance companies that all legal cash advance contracts:

1. Be in “plain language” (as defined in New York’s General Obligations Law, Sec 5-702)

2. Be completely filled in and containing disclosures on the front page, in at least 12 point bold type, appropriately headed, with:

a. The total amount advanced to the consumer
b. Itemization of one-time fees, broken out item by item (e.g. application, processing, attorney review, broker, etc.)
c. Percentage fee or rate of return, stated on an annualized basis, including frequency of compounding
d. Total amount to be repaid by the consumer, broken out by six month intervals, carried forward to 36 months, and including all fees as well as any minimum required payment amount.

3. Provide a five business day cancellation policy

4. Provide for consumer’s initials on each page of the contract

5. Contain a legend, immediately above the consumer’s signature, in at least 12-point boldface type, to read:

Do not sign this contract before you read it completely or if it contains blank space. Before you sign this contract you should obtain the advice of your attorney. You are entitled to a completely filled in copy of this contract.

6. Contain a written statement by the consumer’s attorney record that he/she has reviewed the contract and explained to the consumer its terms.

7. For foreign language speaking persons, the “principal terms” shall be translated in writing into the consumer’s native language.

8. May not require mandatory or binding arbitration

9. Shall comply with all existing state and federal statutes

Thus, the New York agreement should be used by attorneys, across the country, as a benchmark for the minimum ethical standards required when their clients enter into a legal funding contract. It should be noted that Lawsuit Financial has always been in substantial compliance with these requirements (before they existed). In addition to the New York standard, I suggest that the following standards be considered, as well:

1. The lawsuit finance company should not, in any way, participate in, interfere with or attempt to sway or influence the litigation and/or litigation outcome.

2. The litigation funding company should make a detailed inquiry into the client’s current financial situation and fund only the current need. Substantial consumer savings can be derived by funding the client over the length of the case rather than a “front end” advance to cover the estimated length of time the case will take to resolve.

3. A lawsuit funding company should never intentionally over-advance funds; funding should be limited to an amount that, with profit, will not exceed one-third of case value. Most companies accomplish this by limiting the amount funded to 10% or less of the case value their underwriter places on the case. This is a function of experience and superior underwriting. Ask the lawsuit financing company how long they have been in business and whether they are a principal or a “broker”.

4. Avoid any legal finance company that offers to pay you a commission, kickback, or referral fee for referring your clients to them. If it is unethical for you to advance your own money to a client, it is equally unethical for you to profit off of a referral to a company that performs this service for your clients.

5. Do not participate with any litigation finance company that does not first seek your consent in entering into a legal funding relationship with your client. If you are presented with an client-executed agreement as your first contact with the lawsuit finance company, refuse to participate in the transaction and refer your client elsewhere.

The educated attorney is the consumer’s best advocate. Lawsuit funding, from an ethical and flexible plaintiff advocate oriented legal finance company can be a valuable revenue-enhancing tool in plaintiff counsel’s litigation arsenal. Be certain, also, to deal with a company that is attorney owned and operated, because all disclosures will be considered attorney-to-attorney, thus confidentiality is assured. Ask questions; satisfy yourself that the company is one that you can work with. Often, your client will bring you into a litigation finance situation. While you must recognize that in the attorney-client relationship, the client is the “employer” and the attorney, the “employee”, your previous relationship with a trustworthy lawsuit finance company should be discussed with the client as an alternative to an unknown, untested company. Lawsuit Financial provides toll free service and free consultations to openly discuss ethics and flexible terms with all prospective clients and their attorneys. Lawsuit Financial will even provide a complimentary, honest evaluation of the terms offered by a competitor. An educated plaintiff and attorney are, always, our best clients.

The New York AG Opinion & Agreement is now, obviously, the standard for New York, but it has also been adopted by the Florida Bar as its ethical benchmark and by the legislature in the state of Maine, which adopted similar language for the first such litigation finance industry regulatory legislation in history. For more information on lawsuit financing and ethics, visit www.lawsuitfinancial.com or call, toll free, 1-877-377-SUIT, to discuss your legal funding situation for free.

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A million dollar Medical Malpractice Lawsuit has been filed on the island of Trinidad. The negligence lawsuit against Mt. Hope Women's Hospital alleges that at about this time, last year, a newborn (the oldest of a set of twins) suffered second degree burns from shoulder to wrist, caused by a hot water bottle. Apparently, hot water bottles are placed in the incubator in which premature babies are kept, to maintain a certain temperature (an antiquated method of keeping an incubator warm). Following an investigation by the Minister of Health, a nurse and and nurse's assistant were fired and the CEO of the North-West Regional Health Authority apologized to the child's parents. The suit seeks aggravated and exemplary damages for negligence and personal injuries.

In this age of tort reform, incidents like this continue to occur at an alarming rate. Personal injury attorneys and victims' rights advocates must continue to fight these reforms on the local and national level. It is strongly recommended that you join the national trial lawyers association (American Association for Justice) and/or your local or state trial lawyers association. Contribute to their Justice Pacs; send letters to your state and federal representatives and ask your clients to do so, as well. Support legislative changes to anti-justice legislation. Lobby against proposed anti-justice pro big business legislation. A national trial lawyer effort is necessary to win this battle. Lawsuit Financial Corporation CEO, Mark Bello, is a member of the American and Michigan Associations for Justice and a substantial Michigan JPAC contributor. Lawsuit funding is a service that provides non-recourse financial assistance to litigants; the ability of a litigation plaintiff to pursue his/her rights in litigation is an extremely important, fundamental right. Fear of trial lawyers and personal injury litigation are huge deterrents to the kind of conduct that resulted in this child's injury. Hopefully, this Medical Malpractice Lawsuit will resolve successfully and serve to prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again.

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Posted In: Legal Funding Lawsuit of the Day

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