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Question: Am I responsible for attorney’s fees and medical bills if there is no settlement on my car accident case?
Answer: Whether a car accident victim is on the hook for attorney’s fees and medical bills if the case goes south is two separate questions.
Responsibility for Attorney’s Fees if No Money is Recovered
Personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee. That means that we are only paid if we are successful in recovering money for our clients. Our fee is a percentage of the money we collect for our clients. If we collect no money for our clients, we are paid nothing. Zilch.
Responsibility for Medical Bills if No Money is Recovered
If you incur medical bills after an auto accident, you are legally responsible to pay the doctor, regardless of the outcome of your case. However, if health insurance paid your medical bills, then you do not have to reimburse your health insurance carrier if there is no settlement on your personal injury claim. If you incurred medical bills on a “lien” with a medical provider that your attorney referred you to, and your case goes south, then there is a good chance the medical provider will waive the bill, especially if your lawyer has a good relationship with the doctor.
At McGee, Lerer & Associates, it is very very rare that our clients recover no money on their personal injury claims. If we decide to take on a case, we have vetted it and made the decision that we think the case is worth pursuing and that we will be successful in getting our clients a good settlement. We would never want our clients to be stuck with medical bills they can’t pay. So we don’t refer our clients for medical treatment on a lien unless we are very confident that we will win. In those cases where liability is an issue, i.e., proving that the defendant was at fault is not a lock, then we will probably encourage our clients to treat through their health insurance, if they have it.
One of the main reasons clients hire McGee, Lerer & Associates is trust in our expertise. Clients put their faith in us. We take that responsibility seriously. Our number one goal in every case is to get our clients the maximum about of money. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call our attorneys for a free consultation. Our firm specializes in serious injury and wrongful death cases.