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Wildwilly54 t1_j64p9m8 wrote

Reply to comment by doglywolf in Bicyclist involved in Jersey City hit-and-run by Councilwoman DeGise files $1M tort claim by EyesOnImprovement

You do bring up a good point. If I’m a Uber eats delivery guy, and some ambulance chasing lawyer offered me a chance at 1mill I’d take it.

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doglywolf t1_j64r08p wrote

Its zero cost to him - most injury lawyers work on commission but they take the lions share to compensate for the risk .

My mom got a million dollar settlement from an accident that jacked up her arm for life. She barely got enough out of it to cover medical cost .

After medical bills which were about 80k after multiple surges (AFTER insurance covered their part no less) i think she got like less then 40k and lawyers ended up with the rest.

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PolarExpress333 t1_j64tcv0 wrote

Actually by law in NJ the most lawyers can take on a personal injury contingency is 30%.

Edit: actually it’s 33.3% max to be exact

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Marshalrusty t1_j65mfry wrote

Keep in mind that, if you take a close look at N.J. Ct. R. 1:21, any out-of-pocket fees are taken off the top, prior to the calculation of the contingency fee. This includes things like paying for expert witnesses, and can be very substantial in a tort case. This is why many firms won't even bother with cases where the expected payout is under 6 figures.

So it's absolutely possible to have a court award $150K, of which half is paid out as fees, and then for the attorneys to take $25K of the remaining $75K, leaving just $50K for the injured party.

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doglywolf t1_j64tj5c wrote

they are lawyers im sure they find ways around that because 2x that has not been the experience i have seen and multiple others heard of

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