How much should I expect to receive at the end of my case?

A civil case is usually resolved for a lump sum financial amount. The entities with a legal interest in the case are compensated, thus satisfying their legal interest, out of the settlement. Portions of a settlement are not prospectively earmarked for any one specific interest or another. The typical categories of damages that are addressed in a typical settlement are listed below:

1      Payment of Medical Bills – If medical care is one of the elements of damages in your case, you are entitled to the fair value of the bills for that medical care. Those bills typically need to be paid or reimbursed out of the proceeds of the case, but how such payment looks depends on if and how those bills were paid in the first place. If the bills were not paid, your lawyer will work directly with the medical provider to pay those bills. If those bills were paid by another entity, such as private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or MedPay, your lawyer will work with whoever paid the bills to reimburse that entity for the amount it paid. Another question that often comes up in this realm is why an entity such as private insurance is entitled to reimbursement when a client is paying (expensive) premiums every month. Because the value of the settlement to a client is often being driven by the amount of bills, if another entity is paying those bills on the client’s behalf, failing to reimburse the payor for the amount paid would result in a client receiving an unfair double recovery.

2      Cost Reimbursement – Your lawyer will often pay the costs associated with the case on your behalf while that case is pending. Your lawyer is entitled to reimbursement of these costs. As a general rule, the costs necessary to pursue a case increase as the case gets closer to trial due to the type of work necessary to prepare a case for trial. Examples of costs include filing fees, court reporter fees, expert witness fees, and costs associated record retrieval.

3      Attorney fees – Your lawyer is entitled to a percentage of the settlement, which is proportionate to the size of the recovery.