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The history of the Personal Injury Lawyer is littered with interesting facts about the U.S. legal system and contingent fee based practices (http://www.glofin.com). While many critics accuse trial lawyers of bringing frivolous lawsuits into the American legal system, nothing is farther from the truth. Personal Injury Lawyers advance their clients services and cash for case costs while funding companies like Global Financial (866-709-1100) advance cash to Plaintiffs against their pending settlements. Personal Injury Lawyers provide a valuable service to the American Justice system by working for a contingent fee which is only payable if there is recovery for their client. If there is no recovery for their client then the Personal Injury Lawyer will receive nothing and therefore these lawyers will only take cases that have merit. There is no advantage to the lawyer accepting a “frivolous lawsuit” because there is a high likelihood of no recovery and therefore no fee to the lawyer.

Personal Injury Attorneys began advertising for the first time in 1980 when firms like Jacoby & Meyers began to advertise on television and radio to solicit clients. Before this, no law firm in the United States had attempted advertising other than in the Yellow Pages. Jacoby & Meyers television advertising decision was a success and since that, thousands of Law Firms have decided to join in. At first there was a real concern from the American Bar Association that advertising for personal injury cases would tarnish the image of lawyers in general and bring about more frivolous lawsuits. In 1996 the ABA released a comprehensive advertising study of member law firms. In the report the study concluded that television advertising brought legal services to the poor that were not previously known or accessible and that the images of personal injury lawyers were not tarnished.

Frivolous personal injury lawsuits?

Frivolous lawsuits are often misunderstood by the public at large. A Frivolous lawsuit is by definition: A lawsuit is termed frivolous if it is brought in spite of the fact that both the plaintiff and his lawyer knew that it had no merit and it did not argue for a reasonable extension or reinterpretation of the law or no underlying justification in fact based upon the lawyer’s due diligence investigation of the case before filing (i.e. the well known U.S. Federal Rule 11). Since it wastes the court’s and the other people’s time, resources and legal fees, it may result in sanctions being levied by the court upon the party or the lawyer who brings the action. (Source: http://www.wikipedia.org). Frivolous lawsuits are misunderstood because many people do not understand the actual legal process.

The term Frivolous Lawsuits is most often used when referring to medical malpractice cases. Again, the argument that too many frivolous lawsuits are costing Doctors, Insurance Companies and their policy holders billions of dollars every year is simply not true. In most states a Medical Malpractice case cannot be brought unless a panel of three doctors review the claim in detail and agree that there was “gross medical malpractice”. These Doctors are peers to the same Doctor that they are accusing and it is human nature to be nice to your peers. In addition to the fact that it is very difficult for a panel of three doctors to unanimously agree that there was gross medical malpractice, it is extremely costly for a Personal Injury Lawyer to pay for expert witnesses & related case costs that are required to build a case against the defendant.

Frivolous lawsuits have also been associated with personal injury cases in which the client has only minor injuries. Sustaining minor injuries in a car accident or other personal injury accident and making a claim is not frivolous, it is a persons right. It should be agreed that the claim will be small and the monetary award should reflect this but it should not be considered a frivolous lawsuit. In addition, if a personal injury lawyer takes a case on a contingent payment basis then it would not be wise to take a case unless the legal claim is valid. Jacoby & Meyers was one of the first law firms to establish the fact that a contingent fee arrangement between lawyer and client is the framework necessary to level the playing field among defendants & plaintiffs in the pursuit of justice.

Personal Injury Lawyer’s incentive to bring valid cases to trial

The final reason that a Personal Injury Lawyer brings value and credibility to our legal systems relates to the time our justice systems takes to play out each lawsuit. In most jurisdictions it can take up to 2 years to obtain a trial date and so the Defendant has a clear advantage in delaying or even offering a fair settlement offer to the Plaintiff. Personal Injury Lawyers advance case cost money from their own funds when building a claim for their client. The are not only risking their time but their hard earned money when they fight a personal injury case for a plaintiff. This financial structure of a pending legal claim is the right framework to allow those personal injury claims with good merit make it to trial regardless of the financial strength the plaintiff. Many valid personal injury claims would be given up for financial reasons if the personal injury lawyer was not able to fund case costs. Even Defendants that have admitted liability are not inclined to make a fair settlement offer until a trial date is near. A Personal Injury Law Firm like that of Jacoby & Meyers realizes that a weak case will most likely be sent to trial and therefore be inclined to take strong cases that have a far better chance of settling prior to trial or even the filing of a lawsuit. In some cases a Plaintiff may obtain a Lawsuit Loan from a company to help pay bills until a fair settlement is reached.

Legal System needs change

The legal system in America does need some change and of course it will never be perfect. One change that would help avoid unnecessary claims and lawsuits is to have a panel of three experts in the field that the suit is being brought to filter out those claims that have no merit. This has been done rather successfully in the Medical Malpractice area and different forms of this approach may be successfully used in other parts of personal injury law.

In Conclusion

The Personal Injury Lawyer brings a very valuable legal service to the citizens of the United States, regardless of the economic standing. A contingent fee arrangement with their client is a structure that was formed around the time Jacoby & Meyers began advertising on television and has created a section of our legal system that works smoothly for all parties involved. Many plaintiffs that would not otherwise be able to receive legal services are now being serviced while the same lawyers screen for only the valid personal injury claims as not to waste their own time. It is time we recognize that the Personal Injury Lawyers provide a very valuable and necessary service to the citizens of our society. William Gladstone said “Justice delayed is Justice denied” and I couldn’t agree more. Our legal system in the United States may have some flaws but it is the Personal Injury Lawyer that improves the system. It is time we recognize that the Personal Injury Lawyers provide a very valuable and necessary service to the citizens of our society.

About The Author

Wensley McKenney is a graduate of Tulane University and has 15 years of legal and financial experience. He has consulted some Law Firms in 23 states about marketing their practices. http://www.glofin.com, wensley@glofin.com

Personal Injury Settlement is an art, not a science like many personal injury attorneys may think. Understanding all of the moving parts and motivation of all parties interested in the settlement process may be the most important aspect of achieving the highest settlement amount for a client.

Companies like Global Financial, which provide cash advances against personal injury and worker compensation cases in 48 states (http://www.glofin.com) can help with the settlement process. There is nothing worse than a financially desperate plaintiff when trying to achieve the highest settlement offer. Personal Injury Settlement is a very delicate process when you have a deep pocketed defendant trying to low ball offers to a financially desperate plaintiff. In many personal injury settlement situations an attorney will seek the financial support of a funding company to give his/her client the support to stand up to a low ball insurance offer and fight for a higher settlement offer.

The settlement process in itself is a cat and mouse type of game with the personal injury settlement attorney trying to convince the insurance adjuster that his/her client has a strong case and that the insurance carrier should offer money even before a lawsuit is filed.

If the personal injury settlement process is not successful then the litigation process may take place. Although this may be an expensive and lengthy process it can often yield far more money for the plaintiff. It is unfortunate that the playing field among personal injury victims and large insurance carriers is not level. It is actually a shame to think that a billion dollar company will low ball their offer to end a personal injury settlement when a severely injury victim is just looking for a fair shake!

Unfortunately this happens everyday and if not for companies like Global Financial (http://www.glofin.com) plaintiffs may be financially desperate enough to accept far too much for their injuries.

About The Author

Wensley McKenney is a graduate of Tulane Unversity and has 15 years experience in evaluating and consulting personal injury and worker compensation claims. http://www.glofin.com, wensley@glofin.com

Many victims of Personal Injury have accident claim’s which can be pursued in civil court to recover monetary damages caused by the negligent acts of another. Unfortunately, the playing field is not level and many claimants of accident claims do not have the financial resources to fight deep pocketed defendants.  Fortunately, accident claim victims can get cash advances against their pending lawsuit by contacting companies like Global Financial (http://www.glofin.com).

There are several revelations within the legal system that can assist accident claimants in their pursuit of justice. Firstly, Personal Injury Attorneys that work on a contingency basis allow accident claims to be pursued by Plaintiffs without the financial constraints of paying attorney’s fees. Secondly, financial companies like Global Financial (http://www.glofin.com) offer financial services that allow plaintiffs to pursue their accident claims and receive a full and fair settlement. Financial service companies pay for surgical procedures, diagnostic tests, physical therapy and ever general living expenses for plaintiffs that are pursing an accident claim.

George W. Bush has just been re-elected and is trying to take the rights of Personal Injury victims away and this type of government may restrict accident claim victims from obtaining a full and fair settlement for their injuries. It is important for personal injury attorneys and their plaintiff clients to pursue justice to the final end which helps accident claim victims in the future get their full and fair settlement. With Personal Injury lawyers that are willing to pursue accident claims to the courthouse and companies that offer financial assistance to help injured claim victims, deep pocketed defendants are up against a tough fight.

It is quite simple, Plaintiffs need financial support to pursue their accident claims and it is exactly that support that will help the population of the United States save their civil liberties to obtain fair compensation for injuries caused by the negligent acts of another. Trial Lawyer Associations and reputable Pre Settlement Funding companies will help innocent victims of personal injury collect a fair settlement amount for their accident claims. Our justice system should always be fair to all parties but unfortunately financial strength plays too large a part in who can pursue an accident claim and be successful.

Until the United States legal systems levels the scales of justice there will be a need for contingency lawyers and financial companies to support plaintiffs in their pursuit of justice for personal injury and accident claims.

About The Author: Wensley McKenney is a graduate of Tulane University and has 12 years experience in the financial and legal fields. www.glofin.com wensley@glofin.com