Need Financing While Waiting For An Auto Accident Settlement?

Car accidents come at a pretty high cost to the victims. Beyond the physical pain, you will have to contend with piling medical bills on top of your other responsibilities despite losing your ability to earn a living. 

While you may eventually recover your damages, your everyday needs can’t wait. Sometimes, legal insurance battles can take years, so you may need to get some form of financing to keep you going. 

Pre-Settlement Loans

Once a lawyer establishes the viability of your case, the first place you may want to look at for financing is a pre-settlement loan. A pre-settlement loan is often taken against your settlement payout. Before issuing a pre-settlement loan, the lender will have to review the odds in your case and have you sign an agreement to repay at an agreed interest rate after recovering your damages. 

The good part of pre-settlement loans is that you may not be obligated to pay if you don’t recover damages from your claim. The bad side is that they can be pretty expensive, so you will want to be careful before appending your signature. If you feel like this is not an option for you, you can always explore other options.

Health Insurance and Contingency Based Treatment

The highest cost after an auto accident is hospital bills. So if you can manage other bills without the need to take a pre-settlement loan but are struggling with hospital bills, you may look at your health insurance cover to help you pay your medical bills. 

The other option for accident-related medical bill financing would be working with a hospital that offers services on a contingency fee basis. This means the hospital offers you whatever medical assistance you need, hoping to recover their fees from your settlement. This option, like the pre-settlement, will require you to work with an attorney who can guarantee that you will recover damages.

Family and Your Community

You probably had a perfect life before your accident and never thought that you would ever find yourself seeking financial help from friends and family. But sometimes, life happens and gets people in unforeseen situations they never thought they would be in, so there should be no shame in seeking help from them. 

You can go beyond your circle of friends to include neighbors and your local community. If your case is genuine, you may be surprised at how people may be willing to lend a helping hand. 

Always Involve a Lawyer 

Filing an injury claim doesn’t always mean you will recover a fair settlement for your damages. Even the few financing options mentioned above you have may not be readily accessible because lenders want to ensure they get back their money. So, your first step should be to involve a lawyer. “Even though you can proceed without a lawyer, this could be more of a challenge as you try to navigate complicated legal proceedings,” says attorney Jon Ostroff of the Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers. 

Many people avoid getting legal help for their car accident claims for fear of attorney fees. However, most injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, unlike other cases where you may need to pay a lawyer upfront or after a set period. That means you do not have to worry about the cost if they do not win your case.