Litigation Funding Blog
October 30, 2014
If one doctor had checked on the results of medical tests, the plaintiff in this case would not have ended up with a permanently painful hip condition.
According to court documents filed by a 52-year-old New York man, the injection he received before an MRI he had in late September 2010 sparked a serious hip infection. By the end of the month, he checked back into hospital with unrelenting pain. A culture revealed a serious bacterial infection.
The plaintiff, a construction worker, met with an orthopedic surgeon who sent him home without any further treatment, despite lab results indicating a virulent bacterial infection needing immediate treatment. Two days later, the man had to be rushed back to the hospital, where doctors discovered that the untreated infection had damaged his hip badly enough that he required a hip replacement.
He was no longer able to work at his job, and his other previously enjoyed activities were limited.
The man chose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit seeking compensation for his injuries and asking the court to hold the surgeon who did not treat his infection responsible for his unnecessary hip replacement surgery. The jury found for the plaintiff, awarding him $2.3 million.
Before the award, the plaintiff may have been in a difficult situation financially, as he was no longer able to work in construction. Even with savings on hand, he would not have been able to pay the medical bills amassed as a result of his hospital visits and surgery. One solution that may have assisted him in dealing confidently with his financial obligations would have been to fill out an online application form for litigation funding.
Litigation funding, also called pre-settlement funding, offers plaintiffs cash that arrives in less than 48 hours. The amount the applicant receives is usually predicated based on what the attorney of record suggests that a jury may award.
The plaintiff can also call and apply for a lawsuit loan. All that is required is the name of the plaintiff’s lawyer and the case details. Once the application has been approved, funds are transferred expeditiously to help the plaintiff deal with all expenses and to give him or her the peace of ignoring insurance companies wanting a quick, fast and cheap settlement.
April 30, 2014
A broken ankle that occurred 10 years ago led to the amputation of a man’s leg.
In what may be one of the largest jury awards of its kind, a New York man was handed $9.1 million for his medical malpractice lawsuit against his former doctor. The story in this case is that Donald Schultz once held a job as a public safety dispatcher. He broke his ankle 10 years ago while at work, which led to bizarre complications and the loss of a leg.
Schultz’s award included $350,000 to his ex-wife for loss of services, $4 million for future pain and suffering, $2.8 million for past, current and future medical expenses and loss of wages, and $2 million for past pain and suffering.
In 2004, Schultz was on his way to his job and fell on some steps, breaking his ankle. He was initially treated at an orthopedic surgeon’s office. This individual and his surgical group were found not liable in this case. The plaintiff did not remain with the first doctor and began seeing another physician in 2005 about concerns with pain he experienced near the little toe of his injured foot/ankle. It turned out he had a rare nerve disorder arising from the fractured ankle.
The second doctor began a series of what would be 21 different surgeries. The first operation was on his little toe. It was subsequently amputated. Schultz’s amputation site developed an infection. This led to the amputation of his fourth toe, but the pain remained, unabated. His leg was then amputated below the knee in 2009. Another surgeon eventually amputated the rest of his appendage. Twelve surgeries later, Mr. Schultz had one leg left and he was not able to work after 2009.
Mr. Schultz may have been able to keep up with his spiraling medical bills by applying for pre-settlement funding from a litigation funding company. He would only have needed to fill out an application online or call the lawsuit loan company and provide them with the name of his lawyer and the details of his case.
Once he’d received approval, the funds would have been deposited into his account, allowing him to meet his ongoing expenses while waiting for a trial verdict. By applying for an emergency lawsuit loan, he would also be able to turn down any offers made by an insurance company to settle for less than what he would likely be entitled to in court trial. Plaintiffs applying for pre-settlement funding do not need to have a job; they are not put through credit checks and do not pay any funds up front, or monthly, for applying for litigation funding.
September 14, 2013
Imagine waking up just as surgeons were preparing to harvest your organs for donation. That is what happened to 41-year-old Colleen Burns of Syracuse, New York.
In 2009, Burns overdosed on a near fatal mixture of drugs. On arrival in the emergency ward of St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Centre, she was suffering from violent seizures. The ER staff called for an emergency EEG and, over a period of several hours, determined that she had a poor prognosis for survival. The family was asked if they wished to consider withdrawing life support. Given the likelihood that their daughter would not survive her overdose, they agreed to donate her organs.
Just as the operation was beginning, Burns awoke on the table as several surgeons prepared to excise various vital organs. The symptoms of a drug overdose may mimic those of brain damage. But, as was found when a close inspection was made of hospital records, the staff missed clear signs that Burns had not suffered brain damage. A nurse had scraped her toes to test for reflexes; Burns’ toes responded immediately by curling. Patients with irreversible brain damage are not capable of responding to such stimuli.
Further evidence indicated hospital staff also did not test the woman to determine if all the drugs she had ingested had passed out of her system prior to any kind of an operation.
The hospital was fined $6,000 and ordered to conduct an in-depth review of its quality assurance program, which, in light of this case, appeared to be substantially less than up to par. They were also ordered to hire a consulting neurologist to educate staff on how to properly diagnose brain death.
The victim chose not to do anything about the incident, due to severe depression. She committed suicide in 2011. No one in the family sued the hospital. If they had, they might have been interested to know that they did not have to pay for all of their medical bills and other expenses on their own, while waiting for a trial or settlement. They would have been qualified to apply for litigation funding.
Pre-settlement funding is an emergency cash advance, or lawsuit loan, offered to a qualified plaintiff. It assists them in paying off all their financial obligations and allows them to wait for justice without having to deal with greedy insurance companies wanting them to settle quickly for a ridiculously low amount of money.
August 28, 2013
Seven people were killed when an 18-wheeler’s load detached from the cab.
The semi-truck involved in this fatal accident was hauling a load of crushed cars, when the unthinkable happened —- the trailer unit broke free of the cab. The renegade trailer then veered across a rural New York two-lane road, just south of Syracuse, in Cortland County, slamming into a minivan.
The minivan driver was 24-year-old Carino Vanorden. His passengers: included his fiancé, 21-year-old Lena Beckwith; a 26-year-old mother of two; a four-year-old girl; a five-year-old girl; a seven-year-old girl; and four-year-old boy. The driver, father of the seven- and four-year-old children, was the only occupant alive when emergency medical responders arrived at the scene of the accident. He was immediately transported to the nearest medical facility for care.
Accident reconstructionists were called in to determine what caused the crash. Investigators were able to ascertain that the collision was caused by a mechanical failure involved the lock coupling between the tractor and trailer. The part required to securely lock the coupling failed, sending the heavily loaded trailer across the road, where it crashed into Vanorden’s van.
The families involved in this horrific accident may want to file wrongful death lawsuits, and the surviving father may wish to pursue filing a person injury case. While they are talking to their attorneys, they might want to discuss the possibility of applying for litigation funding to assist them in paying their staggering medical, funeral and burial expenses.
A lawsuit cash advance is an emergency loan for plaintiffs that helps them get back on their feet financially while they wait for their case to be handled. Whether it goes to settlement or to court, pre-settlement funding allows the victim to pay off their outstanding bills and keep current with their usual expenses, such as a student loan, rent or a mortgage.
While litigation funding is not for every plaintiff, there are a number of significant advantages worth researching. For instance, the victim does not pay any money upfront, does not make monthly payments, is not required to submit to a credit check, does not need to be employed and does not need to pay back the lawsuit cash advance if they do not win their case.
Applying for a lawsuit loan requires that you hire an attorney, who is responsible for providing case file information to the litigation funding company. Pre-settlement funding is then awarded based on the potential winnability of the case. Call for information or find it online. The lawsuit loan representatives understand that you have been through a lot before coming to them for help. You are treated with great respect and dignity.
