His clients pay him 10 percent of their court awards.

If the complainants win, judges can order the defendants to pay the legal fees, in addition to any judgment the court awards.

The court award - eventually settled at $175 million - led to the bankruptcy of Loewen.

The lawyers just take such cases to get 50 percent of any court award.

The plan would press the states to enact limits on court awards.

Lawyers who represent such people, generally receive one-third of court awards and settlements in the cases.

But if that does not happen, the agency is prepared to collect the full court award, which has grown to almost $1.4 billion with interest.

Medica has around $1 billion to cover its losses, but could face bankruptcy if court awards exceed that figure.

He sued and won a court award of $30,000, a sum he was never able to collect.

These women are also likely to find it difficult to get court awards.