The lawyer or their staff will first of all make sure the insurance companies and medical providers are notified that you are represented. This means they can no longer contact you directly, but must go through your attorney. Most lawyers in any injury case will counsel you to never talk to the other party's insurance company (known as the adverse) even before you have hired an attorney. Do not agree to any settlement they offer until you find out from a lawyer if it is reasonable given the facts of the incident. If you have a good case, an attorney will be able to get more money for you than you would be able to get on your own.
If you have not finished your medical treatment at the time you retain the lawyer, they or their staff will keep in touch with you throughout your treatment. You should keep them updated and let them know of any major changes which take place during the course of your medical care. They will make sure you understand how any medical treatment will affect your case, and this will help them be prepared when it is time to write up the demand for settlement.
Once you have finished your treatment, the lawyer or their staff will prepare a demand to be sent to the insurance company or other responsible party. This will explain your injuries and will stipulate a fair amount of money for your settlement. You will be able to review the demand and make changes before it is sent. The attorney's percentage as well as other costs are included in the amount the demand requests.
The other party will respond to the demand with an offer of settlement. Your lawyer will let you know what this offer is and will get your approval to accept it. If it is not acceptable to you, your lawyer will negotiate to get you a better settlement. Sometimes this takes a few times going back and forth. Once you have agreed to a settlement, the opposing party will send a check to your attorney, along with a release which states you will not in the future be able to make a claim for this same incident. After the attorney has taken their percentage of the settlement (usually 1/3), as well as other administrative costs, you will be issued a check for the remaining amount. The lawyer will provide you with a settlement statement detailing the settlement and costs.
If an acceptable amount cannot be reached by negotiation in this way, a lawsuit may need to be filed. Your lawyer will explain the benefits and drawbacks of filing suit so you can decide if you wish to proceed. If a lawsuit is filed, you will have to pay a filing fee up front, and if it goes to Mediation or Arbitration, you may also have to pay for those services. Many times the threat of filing suit will get the other party to offer more money, and sometimes even if suit is filed, they may offer an acceptable settlement before it goes any further.
Many are more than a little surprised to learn about certain facts and procedures that occur in our legal system which are very common in personal injury claims. One surprising fact is how much information is hidden from the jury. Specifically information that is kept from juries in personal injury cases which include car accident cases, wrongful death, medical malpractice, etc.
For example, the attorneys and judge are prohibited from even mentioning whether a party has insurance, and if they do, a mistrial will typically occur. The jury will never be told if the defendant has INSURANCE and if so, how much.
It is important to note that if a case is filed in court, or if it goes to trial, the defendant will almost always have INSURANCE. The plaintiff and their lawyer will not devote hundreds of hours to work up and pursue a claim unless there is a guaranteed source of recovery (i.e., an insurance policy to pay a verdict). Jurors hearing a civil case can rest assured the defendant will have the means to pay any verdict that is handed down.
The defendant's insurance company hires the lawyer, decides when to settle, basically makes all of the decisions when a case is in litigation. Most of the time the defendant has very little say about how the case is defended or if a settlement should occur. The decision about whether to settle, by how much, etc. are always made by the INSURANCE CARRIER.
Filing a lawsuit does not mean your case will be heard by a jury. Most personal injury attorneys would rather have a JUDGE decide the case instead of a jury. This is because too many jurors are highly SUSPICIOUS and SKEPTICAL of injured plaintiffs, and often refuse to give money for legitimate injuries based on a variety of reasons. To have a case resolved by a jury, one must file a specific document with the court and pay a $250 JURY FEE. If the plaintiff or defendant fails to file a JURY DEMAND, then the judge will hear and decide the case (unless the case settles before the trial date).
In more than 90-95% of personal injury lawsuits, it is the defendant's INSURANCE COMPANY that has requested a jury! Why is this true? Because juries will typically award less money (and sometimes no money) in personal injury cases than the judge will award.
Insurance companies are fully aware of the statistics that show a jury will typically award much LESS MONEY to an injured plaintiff than an experienced judge, especially in certain types of claims, like medical malpractice, soft tissue injuries, and other cases which may be difficult to prove.
**In most MEDICAL MALPRACTICE lawsuits (at least 90-95% of cases), it is the doctor's defense attorney that files the Jury Demand and pays the required jury fee of $250! Yep, doctors complain of "runaway jury awards," yet the DOCTORS' ATTORNEYS routinely ask that the cases against them be heard by a jury!
**Most plaintiff's attorneys will try to resolve smaller injury claims (less than $50,000) through settlement negotiations or by court-ordered arbitration. A program known as MANDATORY ARBITRATION allows the court to appoint a retired judge or experienced attorney (someone who is approved by the court) to decide the case in an expedient and cost effective manner, as an alternative to going to trial in court.
**You can APPEAL an ARBITRATION AWARD by requesting that the case be tried in court. However, if the party who appeals the award fails to do better at trial, that party will have to pay the non-appealing party's attorney fees and costs.
**In more than 90-95% of personal injury claims that go to arbitration and are appealed, it is the DEFENDANT or the defendant's INSURANCE COMPANY who appeal the award! Most plaintiff attorneys will rarely appeal an arbitration award because it creates a significant risk that the individual client may have to pay for the defendant's insurance defense costs.
If an arbitration award is appealed and goes to trial, the jury will never be told that the case was first resolved by arbitration. And the jury will never be told the amount of the arbitrator's award.
The jury will be left with the impression that the plaintiff and his/her attorney has forced them to come to court to decide a small case that should have been SETTLED . Often times the jury will resent a plaintiff in a small case, believing that the plaintiff is "litigious" or trying to "hit the jackpot" and then award the plaintiff a very small percentage of what would be considered a fair verdict (or sometimes nothing at all as payback for filing a lawsuit in such a small case).
Both T. Peterson & Christopher Davis are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
T. Peterson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Pets, Internet Marketing and Accident Lawyers. Visit to find out more. T. Peterson's top article generates over 1000 views. to your Favourites.
Christopher Davis has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family, Marketing and Wrongful Death. Christopher M. Davis is the managing partner of Davis Law Group. He brings over 15 years of practical yet innovative experience to personal injury cases. He practices law in Seattle, WA. You can learn more about Mr. Davis at. Christopher Davis's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.