Attorney fee seems really high
July 26, 2011
I went to a car accident lawyer yesterday. The attorney said he will do a contingency fee of 40% for my case. Is that fair? That seems really high.
The “industry standard” on car accident cases is usually 1/3 (or 33.33%) of the total recovery. The percentage is often increased if the case goes to trial as well. Without more information, I can’t tell you if that fee percentage is fair. Factors to look at:
- Is the car accident contested liability? That is, is it clear who caused the accident?
- Is the claim destined for trial?
- How much expenses is the attorney going to need to advance? For example, it can easily cost $5,000 to pay for a doctor’s time in testifying in a car accident case.
- How many doctors will need to testify in the case?
- Are medical experts going to need to testify to your injuries?
As a frame of reference, our car accident attorney fees typically start at 25%.
Also note that typically, the attorney(s) on the other side of the case (representing the defendant) are paid by the insurance company directly. Oftentimes the are actually salaried employees of the insurance company.
Minor Impact Soft Tissue (MIST) Cases
July 19, 2011
Whenever possible, insurance companies seem to like to classify car accident claims as “MIST” cases. They define these as Minor Impact Soft Tissue injuries. Basically, the wreck wasn’t “that bad” so the injured party should not be injured “that bad.” Traditionally these cases were accidents that occurred with vehicles traveling under 8 miles per hour and the property damage less than $1,500 in repairs.
I’m seeing more and more insurance adjusters giving cases the “MIST” treatment. It doesn’t matter if the wreck was high impact or not. One of the main problems with people that have been injured in lower impact cases is that their damages aren’t as high. Here’s a quick example:
Someone is rear-ended by someone that is going 25 m.p.h. They go to the doctor and get followup treatment for their back and neck sprain. Their total medical bills are about $6000. The insurance company will often offer less than the actual medical bills to settle the claim.
Guess what happens if the claimant accepts the offer? They still have to pay their doctors, so they end up being out of money for an accident they didn’t cause. The insurance company has little incentive to offer a reasonable amount until an attorney gets involved. If a lawsuit is filed, a doctor will need to be able to testify about the plaintiff’s injuries. Doctors typically charge $1000/hr for this type of thing. You can easily run up a bill trying a case.
The simple fact is that people can get injured in minor impact collisions.
Free Turn-by-turn GPS
July 5, 2011
Mapquest recently updated their app:
Assuming you have an iPhone or Android, the app is free! I tried it on my iPhone and it works really well. It works for both driving and walking maps. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before Google comes out with something similar.
