Interview two or three - it costs nothing but time

Hospitals, health insurers and government programs often have a legal right to be repaid from your settlement. The payout order is roughly: attorney fees and costs, then Medicare and insurer repayment claims, then medical liens, then you. An offer that sounds livable before liens can be nothing after - tally them before evaluating any number.

Usually yes - most states allow 2-3 years - but two things erode older claims: evidence and treatment gaps. A gap between the accident and care is the adjuster's favorite argument that the injury came from something else. If you are within your state's deadline (check this page's table), document what you can now and get evaluated.

Honestly: no page can tell you. Industry compilations put minor-injury settlements around $2,500-$15,000, moderate injuries $25,000-$100,000, and severe or permanent injuries $100,000 to $1,000,000+ - but evidence, venue, your state's fault rule and the defendant's policy limits move every case. Treat ranges as calibration, and treat anyone promising a number as a red flag.

Typically nothing up front: contingency fees run about 33% if the case settles before a lawsuit and around 40% after filing, paid only out of a recovery. No win, no fee - though ask who covers case costs (filing, experts) if you lose. More than 95% of injury plaintiffs use this arrangement, and the free initial consultation is the industry norm.

Not always. Property-damage-only and minor fully-healed injuries with admitted fault are genuinely self-serviceable. The often-cited study on representation - from the Insurance Research Council in 1999, still the most recent of its kind - found represented claimants recovered several times more on average, but it is a quarter-century old and averages hide case differences. The honest rule: real injuries, disputed fault, or an unresponsive insurer justify the free consultation.