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And it never occurred to you that if the plaintiff's attorney was really that hardheaded and wanted to take it to trial, the insurance company would bring out its own team of lawyers and litigate it to no end? The more insurance you have, the harder THEY fight to keep their money. It's their problem. Not yours. It's not easy to win a case that goes to trial, and everybody involved knows it - which is why so many times things are settled out of court.
And also, it's why auto insurance cost you a tiny fraction of "the millions insurance companies pay out to them ebil lawyers" - because those cases don't happen very often.
If I hit a church bus tomorrow, I'd like to know someone's fighting for my cause (because my specialization isn't accident litigation).
It's not "ebil lawyers," it's "greedy lawyers." Please use spell-check.
And like I said, you're welcome to slog through hell and back to come after my assets. But I know you're not going to do that because you, like other lawyers, don't want the fight. You want your money.
Again, lawyers are not "in it" for the people they represent. They're in it for the paycheck. You yourself have admitted that.
And like I said, you're welcome to slog through hell and back to come after my assets. But I know you're not going to do that because you, like other lawyers, don't want the fight. You want your money.
Again, lawyers are not "in it" for the people they represent. They're in it for the paycheck. You yourself have admitted that.
Hi GarageLogic--
If you are clearly at fault in an accident, I'm willing to bet that your insurance company will first attempt to settle any claim levied against you via an attorney's letter before litigating. And the majority of the time (I'm willing to say 90%), it ends there, the attorney gets paid, the client gets paid, everybody's happy.
As far as being in it for the paycheck, I'll happily admit that lawyers need to get paid just like any other professional. You don't seem to question the need for doctors or auto mechanics to get paid when they work, too - even though they are also providing a professional service at a rate of more than $100 per hour.
Check your fine print. Read it, and re-read it VERY carefully!
My sister-in-law got rear-ended (a couple months ago) by an uninsured immigrant motorist. She carries full-coverage, low deductible, high un/underinsured motorist coverage - and she got screwed over. Of course, that's not what they told her would happen when she sprang for premium coverage.
Never trust what a salesman or a lawyer tells you. They are in it for themselves, not you.
I drive cheap cars anyways so it won't be catastrophic if they total my car and speed off and the insurance refuses to pay - I already know that. The key here is making the insurance company liable if some uninsured moron causes permanent bodily damage to myself.
If you are clearly at fault in an accident, I'm willing to bet that your insurance company will first attempt to settle any claim levied against you via an attorney's letter before litigating. And the majority of the time (I'm willing to say 90%), it ends there, the attorney gets paid, the client gets paid, everybody's happy.
As far as being in it for the paycheck, I'll happily admit that lawyers need to get paid just like any other professional. You don't seem to question the need for doctors or auto mechanics to get paid when they work, too - even though they are also providing a professional service at a rate of more than $100 per hour.
Actaully, some of us are in it for the people we represent. However we also have to pay secretaries, paralegals, rent, insurance, receptionsists, runners, filing fees, Westlaw fees, interenet provider fees, electronic storage data service fees, library upkeep and updating costs, bar dues . . . No we cannot work for free. We also have to answer to our partners or employer. So while yes, lawyer are paid well, it is not as well as you might think. Mostly we make a lot of money becuase we work a lot of hours. When you factor in the hours and hours of marketing time and administrative time for which we do nto get paid, we are not paid all that well on an hourly basis. Now add to that law schools are pumping out twice as many lawyers each year as our society cna employ and competition begins driving legal fees down. Some rates are simply zero profit. It jsut keeps people working. Or there may be a tiny profit and the firm makes profit by getting the lawyers to work harder. If you factor in all of the time realted to work, we pretty much work 70 to 100 hours a week. That works out to about $60 per hour for a reasoanbly skilled attoreny with 10-20 years of experience. Good yes. fabulous? Not really. THe work is hard, often boring, very stressful and you have to go to college for 7 years, usually at a cost of over $100,000 and then if you ifnd a job, you usually do nto make all that much at first because it takes to long for you to compelte work and the time cannot all be billed to a client. Some make a little more, some less. That is a approximate average. As a partner you cna make a lot more, but you can also make a lot less, even $0 in any given year.
Why ae so many lawyers living in nice houses and driving nice cars? First off not that many are, secondly many either come from wealthy families or they simply manage their money and invest well. While lots of highly visible lawyers are very walthy, many more are not. Many, especially young lawyers are struggleing and living in their parent's basement.
So while some lawyers are only interested in the $, many are not, but $ are still reqruied if they are going to keep the doors open and support a family.
^^ There's a big difference between lawyers "providing services," and "creating business." I have no problem with the first, but I have a HUGE problem with the second - and the second is why lawyers (as a profession) are so thoroughly hated by so many people.
^^ There's a big difference between lawyers "providing services," and "creating business." I have no problem with the first, but I have a HUGE problem with the second - and the second is why lawyers (as a profession) are so thoroughly hated by so many people.
When I watch hours of the "Judge" shows on afternoon TV is seems all the ads are either Lawyers or someone selling minimum coverage insurance.
I think the states should get serious about minimum coverage and set a reasonable limit (100K?) and jail those driving without insurance.
When I watch hours of the "Judge" shows on afternoon TV is seems all the ads are either Lawyers or someone selling minimum coverage insurance.
I think the states should get serious about minimum coverage and set a reasonable limit (100K?) and jail those driving without insurance.
THat is because of the demographics of the people who are home at that time watching such shows.
If there were no greedy absurd clients, any greedy absurd lawyers could not file frivolous cases. Simple solution, ditch the "American rule" and adopt loser pays attorney fees. You could also soclaize legal representation, but I do not think that would work very well.
However back to insurance coverage, it is a tough call. Conceptually, you should get as much coverage as you can possibly afford. However that may be impractical. In general, you shoud understand the risks, learn what can happen and what is and is not covered and then buy insurance that you are comfortable with.
However back to insurance coverage, it is a tough call. Conceptually, you should get as much coverage as you can possibly afford. However that may be impractical. In general, you shoud understand the risks, learn what can happen and what is and is not covered and then buy insurance that you are comfortable with.
In general, you should understand the risks, learn what can happen and what is and is not covered and then buy insurance that you are comfortable with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GarageLogic
That's fair and reasonable.
need? Risk? So someone living on welfare in Section 8 housing has nothing to lose. Why buy insurance?
need? Risk? So someone living on welfare in Section 8 housing has nothing to lose. Why buy insurance?
alot of them dont, or they sign up for a policy make one payment to get the insurance card, dont make any more payments, taht way if they get into an accident or get pulled over it "looks like" they have coverage
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need? Risk? So someone living on welfare in Section 8 housing has nothing to lose. Why buy insurance?
