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Exactly! I am so sick of the sob stories of how the poor lawyer gets nothing if he loses a case, therefore he HAS to take 33-95% of the settlements. I am all for the victim and their family getting compensated. There is absolutely nothing “just” about the lawyer getting millions on the back of the victims. Either loser pays or outlawing contingency fees would lead to much more justice. A lawyer can pre-negotiate a fee beforehand. Maybe $500,000 for the 10-20 hours worked on the case might tide him over.

I am so sick of the sob stories of how the poor lawyer gets nothing if he loses a case, therefore he HAS to take 33-95% of the settlements.

There is no law regarding how much the lawyer is paid. It is a negotiation between lawyer and client. For a really good case, a lawyer my take a far lower percentage.

I just love it when people who have absolutely no knowledge of the legal system chime in with their declarations of what is needed to fix the system.

You folks have no idea how you have been misled by the insurance industry into blaming plaintiff's attorneys for jury awards. I love the comment earlier about the attorney putting in "20-25 hours" or so for a case like this. Most likely the hours run in the thousands, and the costs of complying with all the frivolous discovery and deposition requests will likely have the firm investing a million or more on the outcome. If they get a jury that has a religious zealot as its foreman, as happened once that I know of in Knoxville, TN, they might just decide that it was God's will that the woman died, and find for the defendant.

Litigation costs are driven by the defense, not the plaintiff. The awards have to reflect the costs else justice will be denied to someone who deserves it.

I am so sick of the sob stories of how the poor lawyer gets nothing if he loses a case, therefore he HAS to take 33-95% of the settlements.

They are not "sob stories," they are facts of reality. Anytime someone takes a risk, they expect to be compensated at a greater rate than if they were paid regardless of results. This is true in most areas of life. Why do you deny those in the legal profession the ability to make agreements which others are allowed to make? You say that a lawyer "can pre-negotiate a fee beforehand," but that is exactly what the parties did with a contingency fee.

As to 95% fees, you just made that up, didn't you? Nobody has ever heard of such a contingent fee agreement. It had never happened. Not once. Ever. 45% is the most that have ever heard of, although I think that 50% through appeal is very reasonable.

10-20 hours worked? Bu!!$h'!. You really do not have a clue about anything that you are saying. A traffic ticket could take longer than that.

You say that you "are all for a victim and their family getting compensated." Explain to me how that happens without a good lawyer, especially one willing to sacrifice and take the chance of getting nothing if the verdict goes against them?

For a case like this, how about 4,000-6,000 hours? What do you think a lawyer should be paid for 6,000 hours of work?

You're entitled to your opinion, but is entirely emotional and ignorant, and not based on facts or logic.