Insurance Injury Settlement

The insurance companies know that they will have to pay more money for a claim when a skilled personal injury lawyer is representing the accident victim. This was proven by an Allstate Insurance study more than ten years ago and, since then, the insurance industry has been trying to limit accident victims ability to hire lawyers throughout the country.

Even in small cases under $15,000.00, those persons represented by lawyers received substantially more in settlement, even after paying their attorney, than people who were not represented by a lawyer.

In larger cases, the difference was even more striking as the studies found that lawyers are able to get their clients exponentially more money as the claims value increases. Still want to handle your claim yourself?

Hiring an attorney early in your case will ensure that your rights and interests are protected. An attorney will usually charge a fee that is a set percentage of your eventual settlement or judgment amount. If you retain the attorney sooner rather than later, the attorney will have more time to ensure that your case is developed to its maximum potential value. The result – MORE MONEY IN YOUR POCKET.

If you have already determined that you should probably hire an attorney, these are the reasons you should hire that attorney NOW rather than weeks or months down the road:

1. An experienced attorney will be able to determine what evidence you will need to prove your case to the adjustor or at trial and how such evidence can be recorded and preserved in the meantime.

2. An attorney knows how to help you get the medical care you need.

3. An attorney can help you get medical care when you do not have any health or med-pay insurance.

4. An attorney will help you document all of your losses to make sure that you can recover for as much of your damages as possible.

5. An attorney will deal with the insurance companies on your behalf.

HOW MUCH WILL A LAWYER CHARGE?

Most accident attorneys will work on your case on a “contingency” basis. This means that you will not have to pay your attorney for any work on the case until, and unless, that attorney secures a settlement or judgment on your behalf. If your attorney does not recover any money on your behalf, you do not pay your attorney for his time. Please note that most attorneys will require you to pay for necessary expenses they incurred in preparing your case regardless of whether or not your case is successful.

Any attorney that you consider hiring is required to advise you of alternate types of fee arrangements (such as an hourly fee or flat fee) and give you the option of selecting one of these alternate types. However, these types require you to pay for your attorney’s time and work up front, regardless of whether or not they recover any money on your behalf. Consequently, most accident cases are handled on a contingent basis.

Important Tip: You will be paying your attorney the same amount whether he works on the case two months or two years. Why not give that attorney as much time as possible to make sure that your case value is maximized?

WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD I ASK WHEN HIRING A LAWYER? By asking the following questions when first meeting with a lawyer, you will quickly gain an understanding of the ability of that lawyer to adequately protect your interests:

1. How many years experience do you have in representing accident victims? A qualified attorney will have several years experience in representing accident victims. Make sure that your case will not simply be passed on to other, less-experienced attorneys.

2. Will I work with you directly or mainly with paralegals and legal assistants? Frequent involvement directly with your attorney will help ensure that your case is prepared as thoroughly as possible.

3. How do you keep yourself informed of the latest developments in this area of the law? Skilled accident lawyers spend many days each year at seminars learning new developments in this area of law.

4. What professional groups are you a member of? There are several professional organizations that allow attorneys to learn from other lawyers and stay better informed of recent changes in the law. Look for membership in a State Bar Association and state trial lawyers association.

5. Do you also represent insurance companies? Many qualified accident lawyers also function as “Insurance Defense” lawyers and represent at-fault drivers or their insurance companies from time to time. This may mean that your prospective attorney may have a “conflict of interest” and be legally precluded from representing you in a case that involves an insurance company with which that attorney has an ongoing business relationship.

6. Will I have to pay for your services even if you do not recover a settlement or judgment for me? If you retain your attorney on a contingent basis, you will not, in most states, be responsible for paying your attorney’s fees if they are not successful in securing a settlement or judgment on your behalf.

7. Am I liable for any costs associated with investigating and preparing my case? Under many states laws, if your attorney intends to hold you responsible for the costs necessary to investigate and prepare your case, they must advise you in writing of this fact before signing you up as a client.

8. How much will associated costs be for my case? A typical auto accident case will require expenses for such costs as copies of the accident report, copies of your medical records as well as any fees charges by expert witnesses that may be necessary to present your case. These costs can vary greatly from case to case but even a simple case can cost several hundred dollars to prepare.

9. Are there any difficult issues in my case? An experienced attorney should be able to quickly identify any problem issues and be willing to discuss these issues with you.

10. How many other cases will you handle at any given time? The more cases an attorney has, the less time and personal attention those cases will likely receive.

Caution: Many of the accident lawyers that you see advertising on television or in multi-page phone book ads handle HUNDREDS of cases at any given time. While this type of practice may be financially rewarding for the attorney, it prevents the attorney from working personally on their clients’ cases and can compromise their ability to effectively represent their interests.

You may also want to research any attorney with your State Bar Association. These resources will allow you to discover whether your prospective attorney has ever faced any disciplinary actions or had complaints filed against them by previous clients.

Caution: Not all attorneys focus on representing accident victims. Unlike some states, Colorado does not grant special designations to those attorneys who limit their practices to this area of law.

It is extremely helpful, at the appropriate time, to discuss the settlement strategy that you lawyer may wish to use so you can give your input into this process so as to get you more money for your serious personal injury case. The best time to enter into settlement negotiations for your accident case is once you can completely and accurately document both the at fault party’s responsibility for the injuries and the severity of those injuries. It is therefore very important for your injury attorney to conduct a prompt investigation of your case including and detailing your injuries and to identify the responsible parties. This should be done at or very near the time that your attorney takes your case. Your lawyer should not start settlement discussions until such time as you have reached maximum medical improvement which is the point in time when your doctor tell you that there is nothing more that can be done to improve your medical situation. Once your doctor advises you that you are as well as you are going to be you can then get your lawyer to obtain a final medical report from your doctor which will detail your course of care and treatment along with your disability rating(s) as it relates to your affected body parts. It would not be possible to properly evaluate your case (determine its value) until you have obtained your doctor’s final medical report of you. Otherwise, you would not know how much longer you would require treatment, whether your condition would change and whether you would require future surgery. The exception to this rule is when your injuries and damages clearly exceed the value of the responsible party’s insurance coverage and where the responsible party does not have any assets or mean of paying or satisfying any judgments in excess of the insurance policy limits. In that case, your lawyer might explain that your only real option is to accept the insufficient policy limits for any one of a number of reasons. Once your lawyer properly documents both the severity of your injuries and the reasons why the defendant is responsible for your damages, it is time to draft a settlement demand package. Although your attorney is the expert on drafting such a document and on the evaluation of your claim it is important that you be involved in this process. You should be consulted about your input and your feelings. Remember you are the expert on your treatment and how your injuries have had an impact upon you. After your lawyer has completely documented your case and you have given your attorney all of the information about the affect this injury has had on your life your attorney can properly evaluate your claim. Have your attorney explain how the value of your case was determined. Ask questions, point out things you do not think your attorney considered and have your attorney justify the value of your case to you. Ask what jury verdict research has revealed. You should also discuss your attorney’s settlement strategy with you. If your attorney feels that your case is worth X number of dollars does your attorney first submit a demand of 2X or 3X? Does the attorney demand a 1 ¼ X or 1 ½ X? Why does the attorney feel that their particular demand is the best way to go about starting the settlement process? If your initial demand is to high many time insurance companies might not engage in a settlement discussion because they feel you are being too unrealistic about the value of your claim. If your demand is too close to the value your attorney feels your case is worth, you might not get fair value for your case. Although your attorney is the expert in this area it does not hurt for you to question your attorney’s judgment and to have your attorney justify what he/she is doing. Your attorney has an obligation to keep you informed as to all settlement offers and you ultimately decide when, if at all, to settle your case. It is very important to rely upon and listen to your attorney’s counsel because he/she is the expert in that area. Attorney Richard Hastings, for the past two and one half decades, has been helping injured clients and families collect millions of dollars in cases ranging from motor vehicle accidents to wrongful death, to medical malpractice. He is the founder of Selectcounsel, LLC, a free service that helps you find one of the best lawyers in your area and is the author of the books “How To Find A Great Lawyer” and “Understanding And Improving The Value Of Your Personal Injury Case.” Please visit http://www.SelectCounsel.com to see how they can find you one of the best lawyers in your area for your serious injury or medical malpractice case.