If you are pursuing a personal injury or wrongful death claim, you may not know that a settlement advance from a settlement funding company can give you the cash you need to cover your living expenses until the case is settled either out-of-court or by a jury verdict.

If you have been injured by another person’s negligence, or if you have lost a loved one because someone else was negligent, filing a lawsuit is your right. If you can prove that the other party was negligent, you can be compensated for medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering, and more.

As soon as possible after you have been injured, speak to a personal injury attorney about your legal rights and options. As difficult as it may be, if you lose a loved one because of negligence, you must speak as quickly as possible to a wrongful death attorney about your family’s rights.

How Does the Personal Injury/Wrongful Death Process Work?

When you contact a personal injury or wrongful death attorney, that attorney will investigate the personal injury or wrongful death incident, examine the evidence, question the witnesses, and determine which party or parties may be held liable for the personal injury or wrongful death.

After a wrongful death or a personal injury, do not answer any questions from the other party’s insurance company, don’t make any statement, and do not sign any insurance document. Refer all of the insurance company’s inquiries to your attorney, and let your attorney do the talking.

In most cases, your attorney will negotiate with the negligent party’s lawyer and insurance company, privately and out-of-court, for the most generous settlement amount that is available. Most personal injury and wrongful death cases are resolved in private, out-of-court negotiations.

But if no reasonable settlement offer is forthcoming, or if liability for the incident is disputed, your attorney will take the case to trial, explain to a jury what happened, and tell the jurors why they should order payment of the compensation that you and your family both need and deserve.

How Long Will It Take to Resolve Your Case?

Some personal injury and wrongful death cases are settled quickly, in only a matter of weeks. Other cases can take months or even longer to resolve. Your personal injury attorney may be involved in complicated negotiations with the negligent party’s attorney or insurance company.

Especially if you are pursuing a personal injury claim, you may not be able to work, and you may be temporarily or even permanently disabled. You could have medical bills piling up next to your regular monthly obligations – and no income.

If your personal injury or wrongful death case goes to trial, the discovery process alone sometimes takes months before a trial actually begins, but if you’re not able to work, your bills will keep coming in. Those obligations are not put on hold when you’re injured.

But if you take out a traditional loan from a bank or another institutional lender, you will be obligated to make monthly payments, probably for years, and you will pay an exorbitant interest rate. Is there another option for the plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death cases?

What Is a Settlement Funding Company?

Yes, there is another option. A settlement advance from a settlement funding provider can be obtained for a flat fee, so compounding interest will not be a concern. You pay back a settlement advance all at once, when you recover your compensation, so there is no ongoing obligation.

Settlement funding companies are not traditional lending institutions, and they do not offer traditional loans. But a settlement advance – sometimes called a “lawsuit loan” – offers genuine relief to the plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death cases while those cases are pending.

To be precise, a settlement advance is not actually a “loan” in the traditional sense. Instead, a settlement advance is simply an advance on the compensation you will recover with a jury verdict or an out-of-court resolution of your personal injury or wrongful death claim.

How Does a Settlement Advance Work?

Unlike other options, settlement advances are offered only to plaintiffs with a pending personal injury or wrongful death claim. When you apply for a settlement advance, the funding provider will contact your personal injury or wrongful death lawyer to learn more about your case.

Every personal injury and wrongful death case is unique. If your claim is strong, and if it is likely to prevail, a settlement funding provider will be more likely to approve your application for a settlement advance and make an offer based on the compensation amount you expect to recover.

Make sure you understand fully all of the conditions and terms of any agreement you sign with a settlement funding provider for a settlement advance. Make sure that all of your questions about a settlement advance have been answered and that all of your concerns have been addressed.

What If Your Lawsuit Is Defeated?

Here is an important benefit of a settlement advance: There is no credit check, and you do not have to be employed to be approved for a settlement advance. As long as your personal injury or wrongful death claim is likely to prevail, you will likely be approved for a settlement advance.

You will know exactly what you owe, and that figure will not change. There is no complicated arithmetic, and there are no hidden fees. A settlement advance is entirely risk-free.

But perhaps the most attractive benefit of a settlement advance is this: If for any reason your lawsuit fails and a jury sides with the defendant, you will owe the settlement funding company nothing for the settlement advance. It is simply forgotten, with no damage to your credit score.

What Else Should You Know About Settlement Advances?

Filing a personal injury or wrongful death claim is a serious – and in some cases – a life-changing decision. Choosing the right personal injury or wrongful death attorney to represent you is essential, and so is choosing the right settlement funding company.

Choose a company that clearly and precisely explains all of the conditions and terms of your settlement advance. If your debts are mounting up, and if you need cash now, there is no reason to wait. To get started, or to learn more, make the call to a settlement funding provider today.