I was visiting a personal injury lawyer's office one day, many years ago. He confessed that he was nothing but a 'barking dog' that 'didn't bite', so the insurance companies didn't consider his settlement offers too seriously. Unfortunately, his clients didn't know about this.
About half an hour later, I overheard him pleading, practically begging for a settlement from the insurance company. The begging for dollars gradually went down, "how about five [thousand] .. gimme' four for this one .. please give her something, anything ..".
Later, I learned that this personal injury case was settled for $2,500 with the lawyer deducting costs and his percentage fee.
This particular lawyer confessed that he went to trial just once in his life and was thoroughly scared of ever going back to a trial. There is a good reason for this, though.
What's the reason? Go to a law library and look up any 'reporter' (e.g. "Ontario Reports", which is an encyclopedia of cases) on Insurance Law. You'll be amazed to see that insurance company lawyers seem to win approximately 90% of reported cases. Compare that to the 50/50 in non-insurance cases. What does this mean? Going against an insurance company's defense lawyer is a tough job at trials.
My own reading between the lines - an example insurance personal-injury defense win at Court of Appeal:
Citation: Mizzi v. Hopkins. The plaintiff's lawyer won $78,000 in a jury trial and appealed the verdict, attempting to get more. Three Court of Appeal judges turned down the plaintiff, and awarded the defendants $13,500 in costs, as well. The plaintiff, aside from her injuries, suffered a financial setback with the adverse costs, on appeal. I would guess that the injured woman ultimately received only 1/4 of the jury's award, after costs, expenses for expert witnesses, and her lawyer's fees. Appeals are expensive. Reading between the lines, here's my opinion of this case: The plaintiff couldn't get a fearsome trial lawyer, specializing in personal injury only, to take her case because of her prior history of claims. Furthermore, Court of Appeal work is yet another specialized field, like motions lawyering. In my mind, the injured woman did not do well in the courts. A little research may have provided her with much for money for her years of suffering from her automobile injury. (Her car was rear-ended.)
Here's another issue to think about: In my view, if you want the maximum amount of money for your personal injuries, go to a proven Trial Lawyer that the insurance companies are actually scared of.
But how do you know which trial lawyer to go to? The ones that the insurance companies are actually afraid of? There are only a handful in a big city. That requires research. Not the yellow pages. There is a way to find these good plaintiffs' lawyers, though. Contact me if you want to know how to find one, by yourself.
In my view, if you settled out-of-court, you did not get the most, unless the settlement offer was made just before the trial started, as in the opening scene in the movie, "A Civil Action", starring John Travolta and Robert Duvall. That movie was based on a unique non-fiction book. The author was a university professor who went on a sabbatical and shadowed the plaintiff's law firm (Travolta) throughout the case. There is an important lesson in the book that wasn't shown in the movie: The crucial (smoking gun) evidence needed by the plaintiff disappeared in an EPA filing cabinet and was discovered only after Travolta lost/settled cheaply much of the case. In the based-on-true-story Erin Brokovich movie, the plaintiffs got their smoking gun and obtained a large settlement, as a result.
Before hiring any lawyer:
http://my-best-lawyer.blogspot.com/
Lawyers in trouble themselves:
http://lawyers-to-avoid.blogspot.com/
Trial lawyers and motions lawyers:
http://trial-or-motion.blogspot.com/
DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer. I do not provide "legal advice". My blogs on, how to pick lawyers, (that includes looking for a dui lawyer, defense lawyer, civil lawyer, criminal lawyer, divorce lawyer, employment lawyer, lawyer firms, lawyer counsel, pro bono lawyer) are entirely my opinions and views and may not agree with others' views and opinions. I am a researcher and information-collector. If you need help in teaching you how to research lawyers by yourself, please contact me.
Opinions herein blogged by: wiseuncle [@] operamail [dot] com
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