Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“What additional fees are there, involved in a personal injury lawsuit?”
Andrew Dósa – Personal Injury Attorney – Alameda County, CA
“Right. Well, the attorney’s fees are only just going to be based on the contingency agreement…”
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“I apologize. You mentioned extra expenses?”
Andrew Dósa – Personal Injury Attorney – Alameda County, CA
“Extra expenses. Right. So, if I had to file a lawsuit, depending upon how big the claim is, my filing fee would be approximately $435 in California. Or, potentially less, if it’s a smaller case, characterized as a limited jurisdiction type of case. Then, once you get started, if you take a deposition, if they take the deposition of the claimant, my client, then the court reporters fee is going to come in, and I may have to pay two or three hundred dollars, depending on how long that deposition went. If there is a production of documents that’s requested, at that point…I’ll just back up.
When I make my demand for settlement, I send the records to the insurance company so that I can document the basis for my claim, and justify what I’m demanding. When we get into litigation, while they have all my paperwork, they will not be satisfied with that…they will then subpoena all the medical records of my client. So, they will also have a chance, if they can, to find some pre-existing condition, like a prior back injury or neck injury, that the client had in going back, usually between 5-10 years. And sometimes they’ll try to go further back, if you let them. If you’re not vigilant.”
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“I didn’t realize they’d actually go that far back to be able to obtain a defense against the lawsuit.”
Andrew Dósa – Personal Injury Attorney – Alameda County, CA
“Right. But remember, if you had medical records from a surgery 20 years ago, it doesn’t cost very much for that company that has those records to produce them. It’s just the photocopy expenses. You have to incur the expense of the copy service that went out. So, there’s like a document service fee, and then a copying fee. So, you may spend a few hundred dollars.”
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“So, do you cover those fees?”
Andrew Dósa – Personal Injury Attorney – Alameda County, CA
“I advance those costs for my clients, and then at the end of the settlement…at the end of the case at the settlement, I will take my fee and then also reimburse me the costs that I have incurred.”
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