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This shows you the mentality of personal injury attorneys. In the August edition of Forbes magazine, attorney and law school professor claimed:
"Contingency-fee lawyers are typically paid one-third of whatever their clients get, which for plaintiffs without significant economic damages means a third of the pain-and-suffering damages cap.In California that produces a fee of roughly $83,000, not enough to attract most lawyers."
How is $83,000 dollars not enough of a fee (not a judgement) but a fee to attract most lawyers? This isn't their annual salary but the fee for a case! This shows you their mentality when $83,000 isn't enough money for a SINGLE CASE
When Obama was asked about Tort Reform and placing caps on punitive damages, this is what he said
"One question submitted to Obama via the Internet came from Rep. Michael Burgess, MD (R, Texas), who asked the president why he opposed capping noneconomic damages in medical liability awards. Obama responded that he does not like the idea of caps because some patients need more protection against negligent care."
This shows you the mentality of personal injury attorneys. In the August edition of Forbes magazine, attorney and law school professor claimed:
"Contingency-fee lawyers are typically paid one-third of whatever their clients get, which for plaintiffs without significant economic damages means a third of the pain-and-suffering damages cap.In California that produces a fee of roughly $83,000, not enough to attract most lawyers."
How is $83,000 dollars not enough of a fee (not a judgement) but a fee to attract most lawyers? This isn't their annual salary but the fee for a case! This shows you their mentality when $83,000 isn't enough money for a SINGLE CASE
Do you know why it is not enough? Of that $83,000 he has to pay for his Doctor expert. Once he pays his doctor expert $80,000 for testifying he is only left with 3K.
Dude you guys have the system down. You get paid by the patient, and if you are sued you paid by the insurance company, and you get paid by the Plaintiff's attorney. What a racket.
Do you know why it is not enough? Of that $83,000 he has to pay for his Doctor expert. Once he pays his doctor expert $80,000 for testifying he is only left with 3K.
Dude you guys have the system down. You get paid by the patient, and if you are sued you paid by the insurance company, and you get paid by the Plaintiff's attorney. What a racket.
You are lying. I've been approached to testify in a court and the fee was $15,000. Based on your previous history of hyperbole, I know you made this up.
$83,000 is amazing. You get that per one case and that wasn't enough. Two of those cases will earn you more money than what many primary care physicians earn in a year. But that's not enough money somehow? And speaking of a racket, attorneys can take their chances and file a frivolous lawsuit with no penalty unlike in Europe where the plaintiff's attorney pays if they lose. There is no "loser pays" system here.
You are lying. I've been approached to testify in a court and the fee was $15,000. Based on your previous history of hyperbole, I know you made this up.
$83,000 is amazing. You get that per one case and that wasn't enough. Two of those cases will earn you more money that what many primary care physicians earn in a year. But that's not enough money.
I was joking. I have no idea how much you guys get paid to take the stand. I was making fun of you saying that lawyers get paid $700 an hour. So you were saying you get paid $15,000 just to take the stand. At most you would be on the stand a couple of hours. That is $7,500 an hour. What point were you making about lawyers gettiing paid too much. oh yeah 83K not enough.
O.K. lets use your number of 15K to start with . Now the lawyer is looking at 68,000. This type of case would take at least the use of a paralegal. The time amount for the paralegal to help prepare the case for trial, could cost about 16,000. Now we are at 53,000. Now you are talking about how much the lawyer is going to make IF HE WINS. However as you stated before 90% of the cases that go to trial lose. If he loses, he still has to pay the Doctor, you guys don't work on a contingency basis and his paralegal, which means he has a 90% chance of paying $31,000 out of his pocket for taking the case for a 10% chance of making 53,000. Only a person with poor math skills would take that case.
You are lying. I've been approached to testify in a court and the fee was $15,000. Based on your previous history of hyperbole, I know you made this up.
$83,000 is amazing. You get that per one case and that wasn't enough. Two of those cases will earn you more money than what many primary care physicians earn in a year. But that's not enough money somehow? And speaking of a racket, attorneys can take their chances and file a frivolous lawsuit with no penalty unlike in Europe where the plaintiff's attorney pays if they lose. There is no "loser pays" system here.
What's the point of this thread? Is it that you're mad about punitive damages limits, and you're hoping to rouse the rabble to your cause by feinting with a rant about lawyers' fees? Or is it that you're mad at lawyers for making more money than you do?
$83,000 is amazing. You get that per one case and that wasn't enough.
$83K is "amazing" if all the plaintiff's attorney does is read a few pages of files, write a couple of letters and the defendant's attorney folds. But that isn't what insurance industry attorneys do, unless they know their guy is so negligent that the policy will get "thrown in".
The attorney's light, phone and rent bills go on all the time. His receptionist and legal secretary get paid all the time. Every time he has to haul down to court, to hear yet again that the defendant's attorney wants yet another postponement he's doing work that he can't bill anyone else for.
It's not like the attorney gets $83K and he gets to keep it all. And just because YOU have a steady paycheck of $385.60 showing up every week or two, with all deductions handled, doesn't mean he does. That $83K is GROSS INCOME, from which both sides of SS/Medicare (about 15%) comes out, health insurance, and all the other stuff that your employer (assuming you're not self-employed, because only "employees" tend to think the way that you do) normally takes care of for you.
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Two of those cases will earn you more money than what many primary care physicians earn in a year.
True, but if the primary care physicians are self-employed, they're never going to be able to pay back their school loans.
You are lying. I've been approached to testify in a court and the fee was $15,000. Based on your previous history of hyperbole, I know you made this up.
I was joking. I have no idea how much you guys get paid to take the stand. I was making fun of you saying that lawyers get paid $700 an hour. So you were saying you get paid $15,000 just to take the stand. At most you would be on the stand a couple of hours. That is $7,500 an hour.
You can't be a lawyer. A real attorney would know a doctor doesn't just show up to the trial and leave after 2 hours. It requires several meetings and hours of time deliberating with the attorneys.
Quote:
What point were you making about lawyers gettiing paid too much. oh yeah 83K not enough. O.K. lets use your number of 15K to start with . Now the lawyer is looking at 68,000. This type of case would take at least the use of a paralegal. The time amount for the paralegal to help prepare the case for trial, could cost about 16,000. Now we are at 53,000. Now you are talking about how much the lawyer is going to make IF HE WINS. However as you stated before 90% of the cases that go to trial lose. If he loses, he still has to pay the Doctor, you guys don't work on a contingency basis and his paralegal, which means he has a 90% chance of paying $31,000 out of his pocket for taking the case for a 10% chance of making 53,000. Only a person with poor math skills would take that case.
First of all, I didn't take that case because I want to focus my time on patients rather than waste time in the courts. Furthermore, the attorneys who approached me claimed their judgement would likely yield a fee in excess of 1 million and that perhaps my fee would be more. It was a preliminary discussion. For 85,000 fee, I'm confident they could find a physician who would testify for less.
You are also assuming the lawyer is working on 100% contigency which many don't and still charge their clients fees. Also, attorneys aren't forced to represent people. They weigh the likelihood that they will win a case based on the evidence. The paralegal fees you quoted are grossly inflated. The average paralegal salary is 44,000 with a range of 25K-60K so how are they getting 33% to 50% of their annual salary in one case? I don't think so. The attorney is keeping most of that 85,000 fee yet that's not enough?
What's the point of this thread? Is it that you're mad about punitive damages limits, and you're hoping to rouse the rabble to your cause by feinting with a rant about lawyers' fees? Or is it that you're mad at lawyers for making more money than you do?
Oh, it's nice to see that you addressed the issue instead of me personally. Not so passive aggressive this time around are you? Love the feistiness! Still upset because your arguments regarding the Mayo Clinic were proven to be unsound
The point is attorney's fees are driving up the cost of health care by forcing doctors and hospitals to make decisions that protect them from litigation. The fact that an attorney claims an $83,000 fee for a case is not enough money is evidence of the mentality that seeks outrageous claims.
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This shows you their mentality when $83,000 isn't enough money for a SINGLE CASE
