Chances are, times may be tough if you are a party to a personal injury lawsuit. Having the financial means to make it through this period when your case is pending may be the most important thing to you at that time.
While you may have concerns about making ends meet, it is best not to engage in financially destructive behavior. Jeopardizing your post-lawsuit future to make it through this tough time can worsen matters further down the road.
Whatever your financial circumstance—paying bills, daily expenses, or rent or mortgage—it’s important to find a pre-settlement loan you have a good chance of qualifying for. While there are specific criteria you must meet to be eligible for this type of funding, the actual process of applying is easy.
Here’s what you need to know about pre-settlement loan eligibility and requirements.
What do lenders look for in determining pre-settlement funding eligibility?
There are a few basic requirements that typically must be met for you to be eligible for pre-settlement funding. Critical pieces of your legal matter will play a significant role in getting approved.
Here are four factors pre-settlement legal funding providers look at when they review your legal funding eligibility:
1. Your case must have a value of more than $50,000.
If your case is worth less than this amount, then a settlement advance would leave you with almost nothing once that financing is repaid, and costs and attorney’s fees are taken out of any settlement or jury verdict at the conclusion of the case if you obtain a pre-settlement loan.
2. Your case must be strong enough to win.
The strength of your case is a crucial factor. Pre-settlement lenders have teams of attorneys that independently evaluate how strong your case is. They do this to ensure that the funding company is making a smart business decision by extending financing to you. The lender only is repaid if you successfully settle your case or obtain a jury verdict in your favor, so the lender wants to ensure that your case is one they are willing to bet on.
3. You must have extensive medical treatment, or your damages must be strong.
If you have a personal injury lawsuit, the medical treatment required for your injuries must have involved either surgery or surgeries, or injections in qualifying for the loan. The best pre-settlement loan companies require extensive medical treatment since it guarantees lower rates. Anyone without surgery or injections can get approved for a pre-settlement loan from lenders that will place high-interest rates.
If you have a civil rights or employment lawsuit, the extent of your damages, among other factors, must have already been proven.
4. You must be suing a well-insured defendant.
It is important that the person you are suing is insured after showing proof they are accountable for your injuries or damages.
Reasons why you may not be eligible for pre-settlement legal funding.
Getting a pre-settlement loan is simple as long as you meet the legal funding company’s requirements. While having a strong lawsuit is the biggest factor in determining your funding approval, your type of case and other factors are a good indicator of the risks of your settlement getting paid. There following are circumstances and claims that most companies, including Baker Street Funding, will reject:
- Unsettled class-actions;
- Dog bites;
- Plaintiffs suing someone who is not insured;
- If a case has already been settled but has been appealed when you apply for financing;
- If you are a resident of a U.S. state in which pre-settlement funding is not provided;
- You are not represented by an attorney;
- You have an attorney, but they are not willing to answer all questions the lender may have. Your attorney is the pre-settlement financing lender’s primary source of information, so they must be willing to discuss your case with them.
The process of applying is simple.
If you meet the criteria for obtaining a settlement loan, the process of applying for funding is simple.
You simply answer a few questions regarding your case and then provide your attorney’s contact information. There are no long applications asking for a detailed financial history of every job you had going back to the summers you spent bagging groceries in high school. Your attorney supplies most of the information that a pre-settlement lender will need, so the burden of applying is minimal.
Once your attorney provides all the required information, you get a decision that day. If approved, you will get a contract to sign with your attorney, and the funds are disbursed the following business day from completing the agreement.
The takeover.
Life may be a constant financial struggle trying to make ends meet, and, despite frequent calls from your attorney to keep you updated on the status of your case, it may seem as if your case will never resolve. While your attorney may understand your financial difficulties when they tell you to keep your head up, you will get your day in court; they are not the ones having to borrow money from friends or max out credit cards just to keep food on the table or the lights on.
If you are a personal injury victim with financial concerns and meet the above criteria, consider a pre-settlement loan to help tide you over your finances. Moreover, understanding the factors that determine pre-settlement legal funding eligibility can help get you in the best situation to get approved for the advance.
Settlement funding is a type of non-recourse loan, meaning you will not lose your home, your car, or the shirt off your back if, for some reason, your case does not work out.
A settlement loan allows you to obtain money now in exchange for the right to a certain portion of your recovery when your case resolves.
The application process is simple, and if you are approved, you can obtain funding quickly. The time to “pay back” the money occurs at the end of your lawsuit when you either settle or take the case to trial and get paid.
Ready to apply for a lawsuit loan? Check out Baker Street Funding—our applications take 60 seconds, and you can receive from $1,500 up to $2 million in just 24 hours, which has allowed thousands of personal injury victims to get the financial assistance they need in an ethical way. Our rates are non-compounding and capped in the third year of your loan.
