Have you suffered an injury in a car accident in Minnesota?
If so, you could be entitled to a cash settlement. That’s the good news. The bad news is you probably won’t get the funds right away, which is probably when you need them! After all, that settlement could help you pay for medical bills, car repairs or make up for any lost wages you experienced from missing work. Waiting for a settlement is not an option when you have immediate expenses.
So what’s the solution? A pre-settlement advance can help get money in your hands when you need it—and Bridgeway Legal Funding can help you secure those funds.
What is a pre-settlement advance?
A pre-settlement advance is what you imagine it would be—money that you get before a settlement to help cover expenses until your car accident lawsuit is settled. A pre-settlement advance can also help you pay for non-car accident related expenses in the event you can’t work because of an injury.
Pre-settlement funding - NOT a loan
You might have heard of a pre-settlement advance by another name—“lawsuit loan”. This phrasing is incorrect because “loan” implies that you’ll have to repay the funds no matter what. Pre-settlement funding is a non-resource advance, meaning you only have to pay back the money if you win your case.
How can I get my pre-settlement advance in Minnesota?
Contact Bridgeway Legal Funding today. We help car accident injury victims secure their pre-settlement advance as soon as possible, which is often within 24 hours of you calling us. The process is quick & easy!
Bridgeway Legal Funding’s pre-settlement funding process
At Bridgeway Legal Funding, we help our clients get their pre-settlement advance in three steps:
- We review the plaintiff’s (i.e. your) case.
- We will calculate your case’s estimated value.
- If the math works, we will offer you a pre-settlement advance—typically 10 to 20 percent of what we believe your car accident injury case is worth.
Check out our video on pre-settlement funding to learn more about how the process works.
You can also read the “How pre-settlement funding works section” on our website to learn more about the pre-settlement funding process.
How does Bridgeway Legal Funding calculate my case’s value?
The 10-20 % figure is the general amount Bridgeway Legal Funding advances to our clients. However, we calculate every case’s exact value on an individual basis.
Here the factors we use to do so:
- Liability—Who was at fault in the accident? Sometimes liability is easy to determine (one car rear ends another). In other cases, it’s harder (sideswipe incident). Regardless of how easy or difficult it is to determine liability, Bridgeway Legal Funding will figure it out to help you get a fair pre-settlement advance.
- Damages—How much money needs to be paid out after the accident? Bridgeway Legal Funding will calculate the cost of any expense that came from your car accident Minnesota: medical treatments, future medical expenses or lost wages from missed work. We’ll then take how much work you missed and multiply it your by current salary to determine damages. (Hours of work missed x Your current salary = Damages.) We will also discuss your current job duties with you to see if it’s possible for you still perform them after your injury or you need to find a new job.
- Insurance—How much coverage did you have when you got into your car accident? You must have at least the following insurance coverage to drive a vehicle in Minnesota:
- Bodily injury liability: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident
- Property damage liability: $10,000
- Personal injury protection (PIP): $40,000
- Uninsured motorist coverage: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident
- Under-insured motorist coverage: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident
Keep in mind that these figures represent the minimum amount of car insurance coverage you need in Minnesota. You can purchase more—the maximum amount of coverage you can buy will depend on your insurer. Common maximum limits are:
• $250,000 for injuries per person
• $500,000 for injuries total, per accident
• $100,000 for property damage
Review the “How much funding can I get against my car accident lawsuit?” section of the Bridgeway Legal Funding to learn more about how much you can borrow for your car accident legal funding in Minnesota.
According to Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety (a division of the state’s Department of Public Safety), there were 79,215 traffic crashes reported. Of those reported car accidents in Minnesota, 172,908 people were involved and 27,877 people were injured. These figures are not terribly surprising because driving has increased in Minnesota—the vehicle miles of travel (VMT) was 60.4 billion in 2018, according to Minnesota Department of Transportation (Page 4) The VMT in Minnesota has grown 1.4 percent per year between 1992 to 2018, just slightly below the national average (1.5 percent).
What does this mean? Well, it means that if Minnesota roads continue to be more congested and traveled, the chances of a car accident, and unfortunately injuries, increase. Bridgeway Legal Funding hopes you’re never a part of the car accident injury statistics in Minnesota. If you are hurt in a car accident and need help with your settlement, please contact us right away. We’ll work with you to ensure you receive your pre-settlement advance in a matter of days rather than weeks or months.
What else do I need to know about Minnesota pre-settlement advances?
If you are ever injured in a car accident in Minnesota, you’ll need to do the following in order to qualify for a pre-settlement advance:
- Hire an attorney who specializes in motor vehicle accidents.
- Keep detailed records of the car accident as well as the injuries you suffered.
- Request a copy of the police report from your accident and get the names of any potential witnesses.
The statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits in Minnesota is two years from the day of your accident. Make sure you and your attorney file your lawsuit within that time frame.