Personal Injury Loans

Personal Injury Loans

Personal injury loans are financial tools that grant injured plaintiffs access to cash based on a future settlement. These types of lawsuit loans help borrowers cover expenses unrelated to the legal process, such as medical bills, living expenses, and other costs.

During a personal injury lawsuit, plaintiffs are often injured and out of work. They may also be responsible for some portion of medical bills even before their case settles. Pre-settlement funding is one solution to this problem. With a personal injury lawsuit loan, plaintiffs can get immediate financial support.

How does it work? A lawsuit funding company will buy a portion of your rights to your lawsuit award or settlement in exchange for upfront cash. The advance is repaid, with interest, at the conclusion of the case. Because legal funding is secured by the underlying case, plaintiffs are only responsible for repayment if the case is successful.

Why You Should Consider a Personal Injury Loan

There are several reasons why you should consider a personal injury loan for your personal injury case. The three main reasons for getting a personal injury loan are:

• Avoid debt
• Negotiate a better settlement
• They’re basically risk-free

Sustaining a personal injury can interfere with your work and your overall ability to generate income. As a result, you can accrue debt, as your medical bills, utility bills, and other expenses. With limited or no income, bills can add up pretty quickly.

Large insurance companies often have the advantage during a personal injury case. They have the ability to drag out the case and encourage a plaintiff to accept a lower settlement amount. Insurance companies frequently get away with this because plaintiffs are in tough financial shape.

This usually prompts plaintiffs to accept a lower compensation in favor of a faster settlement. If, by any chance, you, as a plaintiff, reject their lower offer, the insurance company you’re claiming against will try and prolong the process in an attempt to incur financial instability and thus push you into accepting their offer.

This is where personal injury loans come into play. By taking a personal injury loan, you’re gaining access to funds that can be used for covering personal, medical, and legal expenses, which would further allow you and your personal injury lawyer to negotiate a more favorable settlement without you accruing more debt.

The good thing about personal injury loans is that they’re basically risk-free. Unlike typical loan products from a traditional lender, which are based on your credit score and collateral, personal injury loans are basically equity transactions based on a probability of success.

In other words, the lender will assess your case and grant you a loan based on the success rate of your lawsuit in exchange for a portion of your settlement proceeds. If you win, the lender will take a fraction of your proceeds as repayment for the loan plus interest.

However, if you lose, you’re not personally obligated to repay the loan cash advice that you received because the repayment of the loan is contingent on the success of your case. With that said, it’s really important to read the fine print of your pre-settlement loan terms because there might be other fees, interest rates, or obligations that you’re liable for even if you lose the case.

When to Get a Personal Injury Loan

Personal injury lawsuits can take months or even years to settle. During this time, your debt, as a consequence of personal injury, can accrue because expenses add up pretty quickly. If you’ve been involved in a personal injury accident, you should really consider looking into personal injury loans and the different types of loans available for your specific situation.

Pre-Settlement Personal Injury Loan

Though people usually use “pre-settlement personal injury loan” interchangeably with “personal injury lawsuit loans,” the two terms actually describe different financial products, as there are some differences between the two.

Pre-settlement personal injury loans are designed to provide financial assistance to plaintiffs to cover their living expenses during the ongoing personal injury case. Pre-settlement personal injury loans are considered non-recourse, which means that the repayment is required only if you, as the borrower and plaintiff, win your case.

Personal Injury Lawsuit Loans

Unlike pre-settlement personal injury loans, lawsuit loans are provided after the lawsuit is filed but before the settlement or judgment is reached. These are designed to help plaintiffs manage their living expenses and financial obligations while waiting for the resolution of their case.

Additionally, they also enable plaintiffs to continue the litigation without feeling pressured into accepting a low-ball settlement. The working principle of this type of loan is fairly straightforward: the lender will review your case and determine the likelihood of a successful outcome when you apply for the loan.

If your application is approved, the lender will provide you with a lump sum that you can use to cover your legal expenses while waiting for settlement. You can apply for this type of loan if you’re in the middle of the legal process, and you’re only required to repay the loan if you win your personal injury case.

Personal Injury Settlement Loans

Personal injury settlement loans are a bit different than the previous types, as they’re designed to provide a financial bridge to plaintiffs whose cases were already settled but are still awaiting payment.

These can help cover living expenses, medical expenses, and any other costs of your personal injury while you’re awaiting payment. You’ll have to provide your chosen lender with your settlement agreement to determine the amount of money you may receive as a lump sum if they approve your loan.

How Personal Injury Loans Work

Regardless of which type of personal injury loan you need, the workings of all types are relatively the same. To obtain the loan, you need to apply with a lawsuit loan company which will establish your eligibility based on which they’ll approve your loan.

Once the loan has been approved, legal funding companies typically deliver the funds to your banking account within 24 hours after your approval. Once you win the settlement case and your settlement has been paid out, you repay the loan along with interest rates and other fees from your settlement.

Personal injury loans are classified as non-recourse debt, so you’re not obligated to pay anything back if you lose the settlement case. This makes personal injury loans risk-free loans since they’re not based on your credit score or collateral, meaning that the lender can’t give your debt to collections or repossess your property, as is the case with traditional loans.

Lenders look to minimize their own losses, and if your case doesn’t have a high chance of success, you’re not likely to be approved for the loan.

The Pros Outweigh the Cons

Accidents such as car accidents, truck accidents, fall accidents, medical malpractice, and wrongful death of a loved one can cause lifelong damage, so it’s crucial to make the most of your loss. Your settlement case is the only opportunity to do this. Unfortunately, these cases are almost always biased towards the defendant, in most cases, an insurance agency.

Large insurance companies often resort to unfair claim practices to pressure plaintiffs into accepting a lower settlement amount. Settlement advances can help bridge the financial gap and provide more time to negotiate a good settlement, and if you lose the case, you don’t have to repay your debt. Instead, your eligibility for a loan is determined by the success probability of your personal injury case.

The Drawbacks

With that said, there are some drawbacks associated with personal injury loans, and relatively high-interest rates per annum are one such drawback. Repayment involves paying back the principal you borrowed, along with the funding fee and interest rates, which can end up being double or even triple what you borrowed.

While interest rates differ from lender to lender across the entire industry, a typical personal injury loan has somewhere between a 15% and 60% annual interest rate, which means that a $30,000 loan can end up costing you $18,000 in interest in just one year, assuming that the interest rate is 60%.

The only good news is that you don’t have to repay more than the amount of your settlement or award. Personal injury loans are basically an equity transaction, and if your debt exceeds the equity value, the non-recourse rule still applies, and you’re not obliged to pay the difference.

There’s also a question of eligibility; not all personal injury cases qualify for a loan due to the substantial risk the lending company is taking. Personal injury loan lenders typically approve those types of cases in whose outcome they’re confident.

If you happen to lose the case or settle for less, you won’t have to repay the entire loan amount, which is precisely why lenders want to ensure that your case has a high probability of success and a handsome reward.

What to Consider When Applying for a Personal Injury Loan

When applying for a personal injury loan, you’ll need to consider APR or annual percentage rates, which you’re likely to learn during your application process. Applying for a loan from several different lenders will allow you to compare the APR ranges and other loan terms, ensuring that you get the best possible deal.

Additionally, you should also consider the loan amount you can get against your settlement money. Make sure that you understand all the terms and conditions of the loan. Since most lenders require your personal injury lawyer’s presence or signature, you can consult with your lawyer to that end.

It’s a good idea to only borrow the amount you need to cover your expenses. This will result in less principal and less interest, allowing you to gain more from your settlement once you win your case and your settlement money has been paid out.

Lastly, personal injury loans, such as pre-settlement lawsuit loans, are widely unregulated, and predatory pre-settlement funding companies are plaguing the market. It’s important to do your research and choose a reputable lender, such as Uplift Legal Funding.

Personal Injury Loan Requirements

There are several factors lenders take into account when evaluating the borrower’s application for a personal injury loan. These include a valid personal injury claim or lawsuit that’s currently pending or has already been settled.

You’ll likely have to provide the necessary information to the lender. This includes your basic information, such as name, date of birth, residency, and contact information. However, you’ll also have to provide your legal representative’s information, as well.

Your lender will then contact the law firm representing you in court, with the lender’s underwriters inquiring about your case from your lawyer directly. Your attorney will then provide the lender with the following documents for assessment:

• Injury-related Documents — Personal injury loans are designed to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and other expenses associated with your injury. Lenders may ask for this documentation to evaluate your financial need.
• Legal Case Documents — You’re likely to have to provide other documents related to your personal injuries case, such as police reports, witness statements, medical records, or even court documents.

Why Choose Uplift Legal Funding

Uplift Legal Funding can help you finalize your case and claim faster by providing your lawyer with all the necessary relevant information and documentation and responding to your lawyer’s requests promptly.

In the meantime, we’ll provide you with a personal injury loan appropriate to your situation while your legal representative negotiates a better settlement deal. All you need to do is apply for the loan by providing us with your personal info, basic facts, and your legal representative’s contact information.

We’ll contact your personal injury lawyer to learn more about your case, review the information, and approve the loan. Uplift Legal Funding will deposit a cash settlement advance within 24 hours of approval. If you don’t have an active banking account, the company will provide you with a MoneyGram or Western Union reference number or an overnight FedEx check.

Apply online or give us a call at our toll-free at (800) 385-3660.