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Message
re: Private personal injury attorney vs. large firm
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:14 pm to Pettifogger
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:14 pm to Pettifogger
The kind with funny commercials on TV.
0
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:16 pm to Bill Dauterive
TV firms tend to charge a few more percentage points. Plus they bill more costs to your file. Many times they have one or two lawyers that are actually pretty good. but odds are your case will be assigned to your file is just a few years out of law school and hasn't got a clue. The TV lawyer himself will never go near you or your file and that's probably a good thing too.
All in all better off getting some recommendations for a "small" firm lawyer.
All in all better off getting some recommendations for a "small" firm lawyer.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:19 pm to Bill Dauterive
quote:
The small firm attorney is a personal friend of the car owner.
Assuming that the car owner is likely also looking for a piece of the proverbial pie, this may not be the best idea.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:20 pm to Bill Dauterive
1. Were you injured?
2. If so, you have a year to file suit. Get treated until better, then make a claim. If insuror is unreasonable, get a lawyer.
I would use a local firm that handles PI, as opposed to an advertising firm. Note that some of the big firm can better find a case, but you didn't indicate any severe injuries.
2. If so, you have a year to file suit. Get treated until better, then make a claim. If insuror is unreasonable, get a lawyer.
I would use a local firm that handles PI, as opposed to an advertising firm. Note that some of the big firm can better find a case, but you didn't indicate any severe injuries.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:22 pm to arseinclarse
quote:
Love when people come here looking for legal advice.
We need a "bad legal advice board"
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:23 pm to Bill Dauterive
The business model of large personal injury firms has traditionally been to hand you off to an associate attorney and to secure the long hanging fruit. They tend to be an assembly line and you just plug into their system. Conversely, a solo practitioner may not have the financial strength to develop your case and move it through trial. I think people are best served by a mid-size law firm. 2-4 attorneys that have been together at least 10 years or more. These firms rarely advertise, as they do not need to. They tend to know their clients on a more personal level and tend to develop their cases a little better.
There are exceptions across the board and the above is just a generalization of my personal view of personal injury lawyers as a whole. Good luck
There are exceptions across the board and the above is just a generalization of my personal view of personal injury lawyers as a whole. Good luck
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:25 pm to DaTroof
quote:
They will be asking for 30%-40% of your total settlement including the amount you pay to doctor bills which is ridiculous IMO. For example:
Completely hypothetical and assumes no medical insurance involved...
Your medical expenses total $21,500
You settle your claim for $70,000
Your attorney gets (at 35%) $24,500
You only get 24,000 after you pay medical bills
So your attorney winds up getting more than you after you pay all your bills.
The amount that goes to pay your doctor bills shouldn't be part of what the attorney gets. The attorney should get 30% of what he/she can negotiate AFTER medical bills. Would be tough to find an attorney to do this, but trust me, it's possible and only fair in my opinion.
How much do you think you would get if you didn't get an attorney at all and just asked the insurance company please?
You would need the insurance company to pay you $45,500 with no attorney to get what you get because you got an attorney. Good luck with talking to the insurance adjuster and getting that done with no filing or threat of suit.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:34 pm to Barrister
quote:
The business model of large personal injury firms has traditionally been to hand you off to an associate attorney and to secure the long hanging fruit. They tend to be an assembly line and you just plug into their system. Conversely, a solo practitioner may not have the financial strength to develop your case and move it through trial. I think people are best served by a mid-size law firm. 2-4 attorneys that have been together at least 10 years or more. These firms rarely advertise, as they do not need to. They tend to know their clients on a more personal level and tend to develop their cases a little better.
I practice in the personal injury realm. This is the correct analysis.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:39 pm to Bill Dauterive
Send all your friends to me. No, I will not pay you.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:53 pm to Mung
quote:
If insuror is unreasonable
And he will know this how?
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:55 pm to Bill Dauterive
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:56 pm to L5UT1ger
quote:
Good luck with talking to the insurance adjuster and getting that done with no filing or threat of suit
Agreed that most insurance companies are going to low ball the hell out of a non-represented individual. That is the sad part about this. You almost have to go get an attorney and file suit just to get a fair offer and that's fine, but the insurance company just lost out on tens of thousands of dollars because everything changes once you get an attorney and you now obviously have to get a substantial amount more money just to pay the attorney. All I'm saying is that the percentage that the attorney gets should not include amount that is for medical expenses. This is why attorneys push so hard for bullshite treatment and going to multiple doctors and running up the medical expenses as much as possible. They know full well that 30-40% of the money that is awarded to pay for all those pricey medical expenses is going right into their pocket.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:56 pm to TigerGman
Insurance companies are always unreasonable. (unless it is a minimum limits policy w/ massive damages)
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:57 pm to Bill Dauterive
Those PI guys really seem to have it down to an art form. Big firm may not unless they have a dedicated section. I'd go with the former.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 1:57 pm to Bill Dauterive
after the checkup
should also do a follow up...neck injuries sneak up on you...
any attorney already knows that, pick one
should also do a follow up...neck injuries sneak up on you...
any attorney already knows that, pick one
Posted on 4/6/16 at 2:02 pm to DaTroof
quote:
and you now obviously have to get a substantial amount more money just to pay the attorney.
No not really, they work on a contingency fee basis.
Eta: I should have read the whole thing.
Is this true:
quote:?
All I'm saying is that the percentage that the attorney gets should not include amount that is for medical expenses. This is why attorneys push so hard for bullshite treatment and going to multiple doctors and running up the medical expenses as much as possible. They know full well that 30-40% of the money that is awarded to pay for all those pricey medical expenses is going right into their pocket.
2nd Eta: well to show damages requires medical treatment, insurance company isn't going to just take your word for it. Most PI guys seem to want to get a handle on the injuries as soon as possible so they know what they're dealing with, eg, soft tissue only: treat for a few months and settle, more serious injuries: confirm and go from there. Although anything's possible, it would be pretty foolish to push for extreme treatment if not needed because that's a risk they would be taking in not having the expense recognized by the court.
This post was edited on 4/6/16 at 2:19 pm
Posted on 4/6/16 at 2:04 pm to Bill Dauterive
quote:Hope you have your own UM...anyone not driving can stack the driver's UM w/ his/her own.
Background: Rear ended by another car. The other guy's insurance situation is unclear at this moment. The driver of the car I was in does have UM and UMBI. Some of the passengers in the car I was in want to get checked out by a doctor.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 2:14 pm to DaTroof
quote:
All I'm saying is that the percentage that the attorney gets should not include amount that is for medical expenses. This is why attorneys push so hard for bullshite treatment and going to multiple doctors and running up the medical expenses as much as possible. They know full well that 30-40% of the money that is awarded to pay for all those pricey medical expenses is going right into their pocket.
We don't escalate our % if suit is filed, and we have a policy that we never take more than our clients. Most of our clients walk in due to word-of-mouth because of it.
Posted on 4/6/16 at 2:21 pm to DaTroof
quote:
This is why attorneys push so hard for bullshite treatment and going to multiple doctors and running up the medical expenses as much as possible.
or it could be that it shows that you were injured and how long you were in pain. Part of damages is pain and suffering. Its much more difficult to tell a judge/jury that you were in pain for a long period of time if you didn't get any medical treatment.
Further, the value for some injuries are based on how long you got treatment, such as soft tissue injuries.
ETA: I'm sorry if i'm coming off as stand-offish toward your posts. They make absolute statements that I'm attempting to point out are not absolute situations.
Crazy high medical bills are a hindrance on settlement negotiations in many situations I've seen tbh.
This post was edited on 4/6/16 at 2:32 pm
Posted on 4/6/16 at 2:26 pm to L5UT1ger
quote:
We don't escalate our % if suit is filed, and we have a policy that we never take more than our clients. Most of our clients walk in due to word-of-mouth because of it.
Exact same scheme my firm has.
I suspect y'all don't advertise?
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