Most Americans grind away at work eight to ten hours a day, five days a week.  They spend as much time at work as they do awake at home.  The pressures of working and earning a paycheck increase as things like food, housing and transportation costs are all on the rise.  The fight to earn a decent and sustainable paycheck to help finance daily necessities has never been more important.

Steven, from Ohio, is a hardworking dad who does his job well and just wants what is best for his son.  He is the type of guy who clocks in everyday knowing that the money he earns will help provide for his family.  Steven is also the type of person who is responsible enough to save as much money as possible but knows there is not much room for error.  

A near death accident on the job recently changed Steven’s life.  His injuries from the accident were severe.  His first worry was to survive the accident so he could see his son again.  His next worry was to get his finances in order so he could provide for his family while he was away from work.       

While Steven was out of work, his savings dried up and he struggled to figure out how to pay for everyday costs like housing, food and other monthly bills.  Unfortunately for Steven, his injury claim was stuck in the hands of a large insurance corporation, which utilized typical industry-wide delay tactics.  Large insurance conglomerates, like Steven’s insurance provider, routinely delay claims for as long as they can until the claimant, whose back is often against a financial wall, becomes desperate enough to settle for much less than fair market value.  

“I take care of my responsibilities and perform my duties for my career extremely well,” Steven said.  “After getting almost killed while on the job, I’m fighting to stay afloat financially. That’s not something that you can plan for.  The savings that you’d think would be more than enough, aren’t.”

Feeling desperate after receiving a less than fair offer by big insurance, Steven decided to contact a consumer legal funding company for help.

With consumer legal funding Steven was able to secure the necessary funds to help pay for things like housing, food and other basic bills, and helping get him and his son back on track.       

“[Consumer legal] funding helped give [money] towards my future, to help immediately, but also, to give a bit of a real, ‘you’re gonna be alright sorta feeling.’”

Where big insurance fails to help, consumer legal funding starts.  It is through consumer legal funding that people like Steven and his son can jumpstart their lives again and not be held hostage to the delay tactics of billion-dollar insurance corporations.  

Imagine driving home from work and suddenly your vehicle is struck by another vehicle, through no fault of your own.  The initial shock of the accident is traumatizing and confusing.  The medics have arrived and are examining you for injuries. Police officers are on the scene to help assist and assess the situation. Onlookers have gathered to help those in need and provide details of what they saw.  Everyone on the scene is trying to help get the situation under control so that those involved can quickly get on the road to recovery.

Now imagine several months have passed since the accident, your injuries are lingering, you are out of work, your bills are piling up and BIG INSURANCE is still refusing to settle your claim in a fair manner.  BIG INSURANCE knows the longer they wait, the more desperate you will become, and a settlement for a less than fair price is imminent.  BIG INSURANCE has created a road block to your road to recovery.   

Meet Brandy from Florida.  She is going through a similar situation after being involved in an automobile accident.  She suffered significant injuries that limited her ability to work.  She lost her health insurance and her bills have begun to pile up.  She needs money just to pay for her everyday expenses, but more importantly just wants to get back to her normal way of life.

Unfortunately, like millions of other Americans, Brandy’s road to recovery has been blocked by BIG INSURANCE and their ever increasing tactics of delaying legitimate claims.  Brandy, however, wasn’t going to be intimidated by these delay tactics and instead decided to seek the help of a consumer legal funding company.   

Through the help of consumer legal funding, Brandy was able to secure funds to help pay for her everyday living expenses, like rent, food and utilities.  This allowed Brandy to continue to seek a full and fair litigation claim against BIG INSURANCE without the pressures of wondering if she could afford to eat the next day.          

“I didn’t get into this car accident on purpose and I don’t intend to profit from it either.” Brandy said.  “I just want to be back to where I was before.  [The access to funding] helped me get back on the road to recovery.”

Brandy, like thousands of other folks across the country, was able to rely on the important services consumer legal funding provides.  The funding creates an avenue for those in need to secure non-recourse funding to help support themselves and pay their everyday living expenses.  It is through the ability of this funding that allows those folks to continue to seek a fair and just settlement for injuries they sustained in an accident that was not their fault.

Like those who come together at the scene of the accident, consumer legal funding is there after the accident to help provide a path to the road to recovery.  

 

This Thanksgiving as we sit down to the dinner table and fight over who is getting the turkey leg or the last roll; let us not forget  the men and women in military who not able to be with their families this holiday.

It is because of the sacrifice that they and their families make on a daily bases we can enjoy that pumpkin pie. If it were not for those who are currently serving and those who have served we not enjoy the liberties we have.

So as you sit down to dinner this Thanksgiving Holiday and enjoy the stuffing your grandma made, take a moment out to read this poem by Autumn Parker and remember those who have our backs.

“My Daddy’s Got Your Back”

I am a small and precious child, my dads been sent to fight..
The only place I’ll see his face, is in my dreams at night.
He will be gone too many days for my young mind to keep track.
I may be sad, but I am proud. My daddy’s got your back..

I am a caring mother. My son has gone to war..
My mind is filled with worries that I have never known before.
Everyday I try to keep my thoughts from turning black.
I may be scared, but I am proud…My son has got your back..

I am a strong and loving wife, with a husband soon to go.
There are times I’m terrified in a way most never know.
I bite my lip, and force a smile as I watch my husband pack..
My heart may break, but I am proud…My husbands got your back..

I am a soldier…Serving Proudly, standing tall.
I fight for freedom, yours and mine by answering this call.
I do my job while knowing, the thanks it sometimes lacks.
Say a prayer that I’ll come home. It’s me whose got your back.

Please keep all those who have our backs in your thoughts.

Even Dr. Evil Couldn’t Hatch a Plan this Sinister

No, we’re not talking about the famous line from Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movie series. Instead of a sinister plot hatched inside the lair of a movie villain, the billion dollars we’re talking about is even scarier to average, hard-working Americans.

Recent reporters indicate that a billion dollars is the amount the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent to lobby regulators and legislators in the United States. The sad truth is that a portion of that billion dollars is being spent to silence the voices of the hard-working Americans who rely on consumer legal funding.

This kind of money is being used by the Chamber is to ensure that a consumer who has a legal and legitimate claim will not have access to legal financial assistance that they need in order to put food on the table or keep a roof over their family’s heads.

In state-after-state, their team of high-priced lobbyists aggressively pushes unnecessary legislation that would make it impossible for an industry that serves thousands upon thousands of customers to operate.

The US Chamber is being paid by the Big Insurance companies to do their dirty work by putting out false and misleading information about the true nature of Consumer Legal Funding. They are distorting the truth to ensure that they, along with the Big Insurance industry, have total control over consumers. They want to be able to control when and if a legitimate and proper case settles by making consumers financially vulnerable.

Whether it’s Austin Powers foiling the plans of Dr. Evil in his underground lair or organizations like ARC disrupting the schemes of the executives in the wood-paneled suites of the U.S. Chamber, justice will ultimately prevail .

Recent Study Shows More and More Americans Living Dollar to Dollar – Increasing the Value of Services Like Consumer Legal Funding. 

When the recession rumbled onto the scene in 2007, most Americans couldn’t imagine the intense impact it would later have on their financial well-being.  The long and slow recovery hasn’t helped the financial stability for Americans either.  With financial assets being devalued over the past six years, most Americans don’t have extra money to spare.

In fact, according to a recent FINRA Investor Foundation Study, about 40 percent of Americans couldn’t come up with an extra $2,000 dollars within a month’s time.  Even more telling was the fact that 60 percent of Americans don’t have enough money in reserve to survive financially for three months if money were to dry up. 

The study also found that respondents with lower income and education levels, as well as many minority groups are more likely to have difficulty handling an unexpected expense.

An example of an unexpected expense is the lack of a paycheck due to an on-the-job injury or an automobile accident.  Such events leave many Americans unable to work and unable to collect income for months.  These lack of funds often results in the out-of-work American being forced to quickly settle a legal claim with an insurance company that is less-then-fair, so they quickly obtain enough money to pay their bills. 

With no money to pay for bills and big Insurance companies taking advantage of the financially disadvantaged, many of these folks, through no fault of their own, tend to get the raw end of the deal.

Fortunately, for the hardworking Americans who may have had a set-back due to an unexpected injury resulting in a lack of income, there is Consumer Legal Funding.

Consumer Legal Funding provides successful financial lifelines to Americans experiencing financial hardships due to an on-the-job injury or automobile accident and are awaiting to be heard in a fair and full manner with regard to their legal claim.

Is it too much to ask to preserve the Consumer Legal Funding industry?  The industry that is leading the way in offering a non-recourse financial lifeline to those consumers who need a helping hand and want to see their legal claim go through a full and fair process.

If you are pro-consumer I would guess your answer would be NO.  For any Industry to actively attempt to limit or eliminate the ability for Americans to access funds through Consumer Legal Funding is unthinkable.  Especially in a time when a majority of Americans are living dollar-to-dollar and paycheck-to-paycheck.