For many accident victims, worrying about how they’ll pay the bills is far more stressful than dealing with their injuries. It would be nice if you could hit the pause button on credit card bills, rent, childcare costs, and utility payments while recovering, but sadly, life doesn’t work that way.
If you have a pending lawsuit that you expect to win, but your bills keep piling up, you could qualify for a type of relief called plaintiff investment funding, also known as pre-settlement funding. Learn whether you might qualify for a car accident lawsuit cash advance below.
What Is Pre-Settlement Funding?
Pre-settlement funding is a cash advance that you can take on your expected settlement or award. If you’ve ever heard of or used a personal loan, lawsuit cash advance is rather similar. You can use the money for almost any expense, such as:
- Doctor’s bills
- Utility bills
- Childcare costs
- Credit card and student loan debt
- The cost of hiring home care
- Medical equipment and prescriptions
- Home modifications, such as wheelchair ramps
What Cases Qualify for Lawsuit Cash Advance?
Car accident claims commonly win approval for pre-settlement lawsuit funding. In September 2023, New York City had more than 8,100 accidents, resulting in 2,052 injured motorists and 1,376 injured passengers. If you had a car accident on our streets, there’s a good chance you qualify for a lawsuit cash advance.
Medical malpractice cases commonly qualify for pre-settlement funding as well. In New York, there were 370 adverse actions filed against practitioners for malpractice in 2023.
Other cases that frequently qualify for plaintiff investment funding include:
- Car accidents
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Dog bites
- Sidewalk falls
- Construction accidents
- Premises liability cases
How Much Could You Qualify For?
If you have an eligible case, your lender will give you a portion of your expected settlement or award, typically 10% to 20%. For example, if the lender thinks you’ll win $20,000, they might give you a fund for 20% of that amount, or $4,000.
For reference, in 2022, the average insurance claim for property damage was about $5,300, while the average claim for personal injury was a little more than $24,200.
How much money you qualify for depends on a few factors, including:
- How badly injured you are
- Non-economic damages, such as mental anguish and pain and suffering
- How much medical care you’ve needed and expect to need
- Aggravating factors in your claim, such as drunk or distracted driving
- How much money cases like yours have settled for
Approval for Plaintiff Investment Funding
In addition to having a qualifying case, you must meet a couple of requirements for litigation funding approval. You’ll need to have:
- A valid pending lawsuit
- An attorney who works on contingency
Meeting these requirements tells the lending company there’s a good chance you’ll win your case. A lawyer who works on contingency only takes payment when they win, so they wouldn’t have accepted your case if they didn’t think you would prevail. That gives the lending company confidence you’ll end up with a settlement or award.
Benefits of Pre-Settlement Funding
Pre-settlement funding helps cover expenses, but that’s not the only benefit. If you qualify for cash advance, your attorney will have more time to negotiate a fair settlement, so you’ll feel less pressured to accept an offer that doesn’t cover your damages.
Plus, unlike other types of loans, applying for pre-settlement funding doesn’t hurt your credit. Lenders usually don’t perform a credit check or require proof that you can repay the amount. Instead, they base approval on whether they think you’ll win your case.
Many other loans require you to make monthly payments, but that’s not so with pre-settlement lawsuit funding. Instead, your lawyer will repay the amount in full for you out of your settlement or award. If you don’t win the case, you won’t have to pay back what you borrowed. And if you settle for less than you owe, you usually won’t have to repay the full amount.
Don’t Wait for Your Settlement; Apply for Funding Today
If you’re staring at a stack of bills and have no clue how you’ll cover them, there’s no need to wait for your settlement check to arrive. Plaintiff investment funding can serve as an invaluable safety net while focusing on recovering from your accident.
To determine whether you qualify for a lawsuit cash advance, call Apex Legal Funding, LLC, at 800-377-4934.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is pre-settlement funding a good idea?
Pre-settlement funding may be a good idea if you’re having trouble paying your bills and other expenses. Instead of worrying about bills, you’ll have cash in hand to pay off expenses, allowing you to focus on recovery.
Keep in mind, though, that you must repay the cash advance if you win your case. If you lose, you could still end up paying advance fees, so keep that possibility on your radar when considering the pre-settlement route.
How do you find a good lawsuit cash advance lender?
To find a good lawsuit cash advance lender, check out customer reviews. Look for complaints about unfair lending practices, bad customer service, and predatory advance fees. You can also check the lending company out on the Better Business Bureau website for a relatively objective assessment of the lender.
What can you use plaintiff investment funding for?
You can use plaintiff investment funding for pretty much anything you’d like, similar to a personal loan. Many accident victims use the funding to pay utility bills, rent, mortgages, credit card bills, and transportation costs.
That said, plaintiff investment funding isn’t a free pass to spend frivolously. If you spend your pre-settlement lawsuit funding on dining out and entertainment, you’ll have less cash to pay for the things you really need.
