Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Litigation Finance

Litigation Financing

Quite understandably, the idea of ‘funding lawsuits’ doesn’t sit well with a lot of people. The notion that a plaintiff might sell a stake in their lawsuit to a third party (thereby transforming the lawsuit into an investable asset) just feels… a bit icky. But the truth is, once people look beyond the ‘ick factor,’ they’re often surprised to learn that not only are their concerns unfounded, but that litigation finance actually benefits individuals and small businesses who are most in need. In fact, one might easily argue that litigation finance helps remove a good portion of the ‘ick’ from our current legal system.

To find out how, let’s take a closer look at what exactly litigation finance is, who uses it, and how it

Amtrak derailment: Liabilities capped at $295 million

Train Accidents

There will certainly be lawsuits against Amtrak following Monday’s derailment, which killed three people and injured dozens more. The commuter train was traveling at 80 mph on a 30-mph stretch of track, according to investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Ordinarily, it’s difficult to forecast the total money damages for one person in any injury case. Each case requires complex calculations incorporating medical bills, future care, and valuations of past and future pain and loss of ability. In the case of a mass accident with multiple deaths and life-changing injuries, it’s even more difficult.

In the case of a train derailment like this, however, the math has been simplified by statute. It’s worth no more than $295 million. Total. For everyone.

The 1997 Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act originally set a $200 million maximum limit for the “allowable awards to all rail passengers, against all defendants, for all claims,

Plaintiff Wins $28M Verdict in PA Xarelto Lawsuit Trial

Xarelto

A Pennsylvania jury awarded an Indiana woman a $28 million verdict in the state’s first Xarelto lawsuit trial. The plaintiff suffered gastrointestinal bleeding about a year after being prescribed the blood-thinning drug, according to a press release.

The verdict followed nearly a month of testimony in court of Common Pleas. The plaintiff’s attorneys accused Johnson & Johnson and Bayer of downplaying the potentially life-threatening side effects of the Xarelto drug.

It took the jury less than two days to come to a verdict, awarding the plaintiff and her husband $1.8 million in compensatory damages and $26 million in punitive damages.

Pharmaceutical giants Bayer and Johnson & Johnson have been named in more than 20,000 lawsuits related to the Xarelto drug. Approximately 2,000 of those lawsuits are part of the mass tort program in Philadelphia.