re: Car Insurance - "What is your claim worth"?

"45 to 50 million"

You do not want to know how terrible the injuries must have been to justify that amount. Probably in a permanent vegetative state where the future medicals accounted for more than 50% of the award. Or, burned and disfigured, with brain damage-caused by some really reckless behavoir. I have had clients who received 750k to 1 mil and you would not trade places with them (in their condition) for anything. I promise you that any award that large is either completely justified or will be reduced on appeal.

Regarding the fee, it is high, but the lawyer probably had to gamble several million dollars against an army of defense lawyers spending millions defending the case and putting up every road block imaginable to fight the recovery. Some of my big cases (where I made a large recovery and a large fee) I questioned in the end if it was actually worth it, the monumental amount of work to achieve some form of justice for my client.

Certainly, there are bullcrap cases, I do not deny it and try hard not to take them, but you do not want to curtail access to the courts if it is you on the receiving end of a life changing injury.