Hello, I have a problem with my lasik surgery (Jan 2004) and have
found a lawyer willing to take my case. I was just wondering if
people here can advise me how much can discovery costs run in such
cases? I have to pay such discovery costs out of any settlement, in
addition to legal fees.

Is there a danger that such discovery costs can in fact amount to
greater than the settlement, i.e. can they run into the tens or
hundreds of thousands? I am somewhat scared, knowing absolutely
nothing about how the legal system works.

Thanks for your help and guidance. Appreciate it.

Paul

PG wrote:
Hello, I have a problem with my lasik surgery (Jan 2004) and have found a lawyer willing to take my case. I was just wondering if people here can advise me how much can discovery costs run in such cases? I have to pay such discovery costs out of any settlement, in addition to legal fees.

This depends upon the nature of your case and cause of action. Since you
have found an attorney who will take your case, this is the person who
best can estimate the costs involved. That is, the lawyer has apparently
determined that you have a case, and therefore also has an idea of how
that case needs to be built. That makes him the best qualified to
estimate the costs that will incur.

If you're trying to second guess the attorney here, I'd say it's
impossible because you'd need to not only outline the case and its'
strategy, but also find someone on this forum who is familiar with
similar cases in your area.
Is there a danger that such discovery costs can in fact amount to greater than the settlement, i.e. can they run into the tens or hundreds of thousands? I am somewhat scared, knowing absolutely nothing about how the legal system works.

Of course it's possible for you to be in the red after winning a case.
It's perfectly possible that a jury would find for you and award you
$1.00 as a symbolic victory if it feels you really are in the right, but
have sustained no damages that are legally compensatory.

Since you don't know how the legal system works, you really need to chat
up the lawyer who will be representing you. A lawsuit can be a long and
expensive venture without any guarantee of a good outcome. Just having a
bad result from a procedure does not entitile you to compensation. You
must prove some sort of carelessness on the part of your provider.

Are you confident that you can so prove? If so, and your damages are
significant, then the case may be worth pursuing. Otherwise you may lose
or end up with a pyrric victory. You really need to get this info from
the lawyer involved.

-paul
ianal

maidak@comcast.net (PG) wrote in message
news:<37v4i058ktildmhpk39sol182vkcikkkbv@4ax.com>... Hello, I have a problem with my lasik surgery (Jan 2004) and have found a lawyer willing to take my case. I was just wondering if people here can advise me how much can discovery costs run in such cases? I have to pay such discovery costs out of any settlement, in addition to legal fees. Is there a danger that such discovery costs can in fact amount to greater than the settlement, i.e. can they run into the tens or hundreds of thousands? I am somewhat scared, knowing absolutely nothing about how the legal system works.

Discovery costs can run up to thousands of dollars in medical
malpractice cases. If you lose your case, you could be liable for
those costs directly. All litigation involves risks, and your lawyer
should explain that to you before taking on your case.

PG <maidak@comcast.net> wrote:Hello, I have a problem with my lasik surgery (Jan 2004) and havefound a lawyer willing to take my case. I was just wondering ifpeople here can advise me how much can discovery costs run in suchcases? I have to pay such discovery costs out of any settlement, inaddition to legal fees.Is there a danger that such discovery costs can in fact amount togreater than the settlement, i.e. can they run into the tens orhundreds of thousands? I am somewhat scared, knowing absolutelynothing about how the legal system works.

This is all information you should get from _your lawyer_. Ask him
how much you're likely to be out of pocket for discovery -- and
any other costs. Ask him if he's willing to agree to a maximum on
these costs, or to a deal where if your award is less than the "costs"
he'll settle for just the award/settlement. And make him put it in
writing. If he won't, maybe you should look for another lawyer.

A good lawyer has enough confidence in his ability that he's willing
to risk some money on a case that he might lose, or that he might win
but the award would be less than his costs. "His ability" includes
his judgement of which cases are worth pursuing as well as how good he
is at winning them.

Btw, my experience is that "contingency fee" agreements are usually
written on the following formula:
1. Take the eventual judgement or settlement
2. Subtract "costs", however those are defined in the agreement.
3. The lawyer gets 33% or 39% or 40% or whatever of whatever is
left, you keep the other 66% or 61% or 60% (or...).

If it's written the other way around, where the lawyer takes his 33%
or whatever and _then_ you pay the costs out of your share, that is
an indication that you should maybe look for another lawyer.

NOTE: that doesn't mean that you necessarily have a bad lawyer or that
you should immediately start looking for another lawyer. It's just an
indication of how confident your lawyer is (and how greedy he is).
Obviously you want to find one who is highly confident and not _too_
greedy. Greedy is good, it gives him an incentive to get the best
possible settlement/judgement for you. But too greedy can mean
trouble in negotiating the settlement, or even throwing away a
(possibly "too small") settlement and then getting to trial and
getting even less, or nothing at all.

This is an area where you have to use your judgement. If you're
unfamiliar with the legal system, ask your lawyer to explain it to
you. That's part of his job. If you don't feel comfortable, ask more
questions. And if you _still_ don't feel comfortable, then this isn't
the lawyer for you.
--
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and
to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising
liberty and justice for all.
Feel free to use the above variant pledge in your own postings.

"cbreitel" <charlesbreitel@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:32d9i0tgpp9iah3p3furcfgcjaqp6min44@4ax.com... maidak@comcast.net (PG) wrote in message news:<37v4i058ktildmhpk39sol182vkcikkkbv@4ax.com>... Hello, I have a problem with my lasik surgery (Jan 2004) and have found a lawyer willing to take my case. I was just wondering if people here can advise me how much can discovery costs run in such cases? I have to pay such discovery costs out of any settlement, in addition to legal fees. Is there a danger that such discovery costs can in fact amount to greater than the settlement, i.e. can they run into the tens or hundreds of thousands? I am somewhat scared, knowing absolutely nothing about how the legal system works. Discovery costs can run up to thousands of dollars in medical malpractice cases. If you lose your case, you could be liable for those costs directly. All litigation involves risks, and your lawyer should explain that to you before taking on your case.

a single deposition can cost thousands of dollars ...

: Hello from a newbie!
Hi out there. I wanted to introduce myself to everyone. I’ve been searching the web for info about lasik and found this board. I’ve never thought about joining a board before, but after reading through some posts, I’m happy I did. I just want to say thanks to everyone for the support you offer here.

Thanks for the Support.
I just joined this board and have been reading through a bunch of posts. I wanted to tell you all how much I appreciate all the support you give one another. I think it will be really helpful for me to read what other people are going through. So, thanks!

Well, not to pull the welcome mat out from underneath you, but we take a pretty dim view of "necroposting"... and the post you attached to is almost 3 years old.

Start your own thread and we will be glad to help you.

Great lasik video
I found this site called realhealth.tv which has a great video. Even though I am a new member, I think everyone here would really like watching this film b/c it was really nice hearing and watching someone talk about their difficulties and how they cope. I wanted to share this with everyone here, hoping it would help you guys too. Here's the link http://www.realhealth.tv/site.html?goto=19&vid=19&vo=0.