The Mesh Harness Act has been updated to help those who have been injured in accidents, as well as the legal representation provided by the FTC. Before the current law, victims were often discouraged from seeking damages because their attorneys could not obtain any money from the negligent party. Many times, these victims were told that they would need to file bankruptcy or sign a confidentiality agreement before recovering any damages. While these two options certainly have their place in protecting the rights of the victim, there are several improvements that the FTC has made to the suit mechanism to better protect the rights of injured parties and to stimulate mergers and acquisitions.
Perhaps the most significant change is the inclusion of an automatic stay, which is a permanent injunction, on the part of the District Court that enforces a lawsuit.
The plaintiff’s attorney would not be permitted to proceed with the case, effectively terminating the case and preventing the defendant from defending against the complaint. An automatic stay is also known as an “important risk” clause. Importantly, it does not involve any mandatory reconsideration of the case by the District Court after issuance of the stay. Thus, if a plaintiff’s attorney is not able to obtain sufficient funds to continue the lawsuit, he or she still may be able to seek important remedies, such as discovery and certification.
Another significant change deals with the funding for a lawsuit. Before the suit, victims would typically seek lawsuit funding from their injury attorneys and would depend upon that attorney’s success in obtaining an adequate loan from a lawsuit funding company. In many instances, those plaintiffs would then stop pursuing that loan and hire a new attorney. However, with the lawsuit process being one that is beset by numerous obstacles, such funding is now much more difficult to obtain. Plaintiffs are also now required to provide proof that they will receive settlement money before being allowed to apply for lawsuit funding. This requirement further eliminates one of the last forms of settlement funding available to those who are injured in car accidents.
Also, in the days before the lawsuit funding ruling, drivers who were injured in car accidents did not even realize that they had a lawsuit pending against them. Under the new ruling, drivers must immediately contact their injury attorney and determine whether or not they have a case. If a driver is unable to determine whether or not he or she has a case, he or she will then need to immediately stop working with a vehicle accident lawyer and notify his or her attorney that they will not be pursuing the lawsuit.
The new ruling also addresses another long-standing problem. One method of lawsuit funding offered by some insurance companies allows them to depreciate the value of their policy while under-insuring their clients.
As a result, insurance carriers are often able to write off significant sums of money for lawsuit funding when filing a lawsuit. This occurs even if the plaintiff’s attorney does not file a successful lawsuit or if the insurance carrier does not ultimately recover any damages from the insured party. Some lawsuit funding companies have taken issue with this method of under-insurance and have threatened to withhold or drop litigation if they are forced to provide settlement funding. According to the latest decision, however, such a practice is now illegal.
As many people know, it can be quite difficult and expensive to go through a long litigation process. Many people who would otherwise be financially secure simply cannot afford to spend years in courtrooms and to hire expensive litigation attorneys and experts. The new ruling allows victims of accidents who were injured to obtain the lawsuit loans they need to finance their medical bills and other expenses associated with the lawsuit. Many of these plaintiffs may not have been able to afford to go forward with their lawsuit without the lawsuit funding provided by the new ruling.
Another common problem for those who file personal injury lawsuits is the inability to get fast compensation.
Personal injury lawyers can handle many types of cases, but when a person is badly injured and requires immediate financial support, it can be nearly impossible to get the funds through traditional channels. Many plaintiffs may need to turn to lawsuit loans to tide them over during the slow period following an accident, but the new ruling makes this more difficult for them. In addition, once the case goes to trial, there is a good chance that the jury will find in favor of the insurance company. Therefore, those who cannot afford to wait for the lawsuit process to go through may find that they have to give up their lawsuit because they simply do not have the financial resources available at this point to fight a long lawsuit.
Many lawyers and other legal experts are excited about the new mesh lawsuit update. There is no doubt that this type of lawsuit funding can be extremely valuable to victims of serious injuries who need the money to cover medical expenses and other bills. Unfortunately, some victims do not have the means to pursue a lawsuit to which they may be entitled. This is why those interested in filing a lawsuit should understand the importance of being knowledgeable about their rights and the process of acquiring lawsuit funding to avoid making important mistakes.
