Slip-and-fall incidents are fairly common. On our cities’ sidewalks and other public property, they can be an almost everyday occurrence. Whether you trip on a broken piece of cement or slip-on untreated ice, a fall can happen so fast your mind doesn’t register what happened. Before you hit the ground, you can’t tell whether you’ll just end up with a bruise or an injury that’s far more serious that may require you to seek medical attention. Yet those few seconds can change your life for the worse.
Sidewalk falls can result in serious injuries that require medical recovery and time off work. Like many other people injured in slip-and-fall accidents, you desire to collect compensation from the property owner that the law may entitle you to. Meanwhile, you may face significant financial challenges. Apex Legal Funding offers financial solutions that can benefit sidewalk injury lawsuit plaintiffs who temporarily need money as they pursue their claims.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in every five falls results in serious injuries. Around 3 million people visit hospital emergency departments each year for fall-related injuries. More than 800,000 of those visits lead to hospitalizations. The CDC adds that falls are the most typical cause of traumatic brain injuries.
It takes little effort to imagine the aftereffects of slip-and-fall injuries. Some of these are both serious and long-lasting. This is especially true of brain and spinal cord injuries that lead to permanent physical disability. Meanwhile, cognitive and personality impacts can come from traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s). Other kinds of injuries are less severe, but they can still call for medical intervention. Possible outcomes include fractures, broken bones, skin abrasion. Falls can also cause joint injuries such as dislocation, torn ligaments, damaged cartilage, and sprains.
The financial effects of slip-and-fall accidents vary. The National Floor Safety Institute estimates that fall injuries cost between $13 and $14 million each year. Yet this figure may not account for enduring monetary costs from those incidents. Some victims, especially older individuals, may need long-term care either at home or in skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities. Other potential impacts include lost wages and rising medical bills, plus the pain and suffering associated with these accidents.
A fall accident can cause lost wages and mounting medical bills, which in turn can create a financial snowball effect. Without your income, you cannot pay those medical bills or your normal household expenses. This impacts your ability to buy groceries and pay your rent or mortgage. There are also utility bills, auto loan payments, childcare expenses, and more.
When you’re in this type of situation, you have difficult choices to make. The law could entitle you to compensation for damages, so pursuing a claim may be a sensible course of action. Yet compensation in these cases isn’t always immediate. Personal injury cases can take up to two years or more to resolve, thanks to some common complexities:
The discovery stage of a personal injury lawsuit can require some time to complete. This process may take at least six months or more, even with an experienced law firm on your side. Valuing a personal injury claim is also complex. That’s because it’s based on MMI, or maximum medical improvement. MMI is the point where an injured party has fully recovered. However, MMI can also mean that a person’s condition has stabilized with no further improvements expected.
Even after initial treatment for a claimant’s injuries, there may be additional therapies and other interventions—all of which cost money. These can also impact the total of a plaintiff’s claim.
Those who know you personally may feel sympathetic about your slip-and-fall injury. Yet even if your creditors understand your situation, that doesn’t mean their bills will stop coming. With serious monetary impacts from unpaid bills, you need access to financial resources to keep you afloat while your case progresses.
Personal injury funding companies offer a novel solution: lawsuit funding. Unlike traditional loans, this funding provides money to plaintiffs based on expected positive outcomes of their cases. Lenders such as Apex Legal Funding evaluate applicants’ cases to determine their likelihood of success. Upon approval, lenders usually grant between 10% and 20% of plaintiffs’ anticipated settlement amounts.
How does a lawsuit funding company judge the success of a sidewalk injury lawsuit in New York? It must consider factors such as liability of the property owners and total damages. Any liability on the plaintiff’s part can affect whether a company can extend funding. It’s also easier to determine a case’s value if the damages sought are easy to quantify.
Other things set personal injury lawsuit funding apart from traditional loans. Instead of your income and credit score, Apex Legal Funding examines the merits of your case. Repayment comes from your settlement amount if you win your case, so you needn’t worry about how the loan will impact your finances. Our lawsuit funding is non-recourse and risk-free – you only repay upon a successful outcome of your claim either by verdict or settlement. If you lose your case, you owe us nothing.
If we approve you for funding, you can use the money to meet your household’s needs. Most clients pay critical household expenses until their cases reach a resolution. With no upfront or out-of-pocket costs and no collateral required, lawsuit funding becomes a convenient solution. Plaintiffs can tend to their health and pursue their claims as they see fit.
At Apex Legal Funding, we understand the unique challenges of pursuing a personal injury case. We offer a large range of solutions that may help, including funding sidewalk injury lawsuit plaintiffs. Our team wants to provide you with sound information to help you make wise decisions about your finances and your claim. To request a consultation, simply reach out to us through our online contact form.
