Insurance companies, by their own admission, try to
settle injury claims as quickly and as economically as possible. They have little interest in protracting
litigation because that costs them money. When you've been in an accident and sustained damages or injuries,
the insurance company of the person at fault will likely contact you and offer to "resolve or settle
the claim right then or in a very short time frame," says Paul Zigterman, counsel for Allstate
Insurance Co.
Insurance companies focus on
dollars, not victims
If you are offered a dollar amount from an insurance
company, what should you do? If you've been seriously injured, "never take the first
offer," advises Steve Meckler, a personal injury attorney in northeast Ohio. "It's unlikely the
company will ever provide you with their best offer first." The insurance company may say
they're offering you a fair settlement, but "why would they be fair to you, a person they don't
represent?" Meckler asks. "Insurance companies are in the business of making a profit. The company
doesn't arm their claims adjusters with a shield of justice and righteousness."
John Kovacs, another Ohio-based lawyer who handles
personal injury cases, agrees. "Everything in life is negotiable," says Kovacs. "The
insurance company wants to see how serious you are. The first-line claims adjuster is not going to give you
the limit of what he's allowed to give. [Companies] don't hand out gold stars for that sort of
behavior."
Moreover, you need to be informed about the
litigation process in order to make a good decision about whether or not to take an insurance company's
offer.
When not to hire a lawyer
After an accident, you may want to seek legal advice,
but you may not necessarily have to rush to retain an attorney. You probably don't need to retain counsel
when the accident was a simple fender bender and you were not injured. "Just settle the case for
property damage, get your medical bills paid, if you have any, and let it go," Kovacs advises. Seeking
legal advice under those conditions is a waste of your time, both Kovacs and Meckler say. Many times,
accident injuries are not severe enough to warrant the outright rejection of a company's first offer.
"I often tell people [in fender benders] to take the money from the insurance companies. Most times
it's a good offer," says Meckler.
When to seek counsel
There are cases in which hiring an attorney may be the
next logical step. If there's a dispute about who's at fault in the accident, Kovacs recommends you at least
have an initial visit with an attorney. And anyone who is seriously injured in an accident should seek legal
counsel. Kovacs points out that serious injuries are not always evident right away, so even if you receive
emergency care, you should have a follow-up visit with your regular doctor.
"Insurance companies have investigators, house
counsel, and millions of dollars. And you, as an injured person, are already starting behind the eight ball
because [an experienced claims] adjuster has dealt with 100 cases like yours already," says Kovacs. You
need an attorney to play catch-up, he says.
When involved in an accident with an uninsured or
underinsured motorist, you should always retain counsel. "Unfortunately, these guys don't want
to pay," says Kovacs. In addition, you may have only a limited time to file suit against an
underinsured motorist. Certain insurance policy language states that if you wish to arbitrate with an
uninsured motorist, you and the uninsured must reach an agreement within 60 days after the day of the
accident. Kovacs recommends you hire a lawyer immediately after the accident, and to make sure your attorney
understands insurance law and policy language.
Two questions to ask yourself before retaining
counsel are: "What settlement will I be happy with?" and, "Am I going to do better or worse
with an attorney?" The first question is easy to answer. The second is unforeseeable. "There's no
way to tell if you'll do better or worse," Meckler says. The case's jurisdiction (meaning the laws
where your case is based), your individual circumstances, and your willingness to settle are all factors
that make the outcome of a case tough to predict.
What to know
Another factor that can make the litigation process
difficult is your own inexperience with legal processes. "Most claimants ask for either too much or too
little," Meckler says. "People just don't know the process and they don't know the value of
cases," which makes a resolution tougher.
Kovacs advises injury victims to find out how many
peronal injury cases a lawyer has handled in the past before hiring him or her. "Don't be shy [about
asking]," he says. "You're not going to see an orthopedic surgeon to have heart-bypass surgery.
Get an attorney who has some experience. [The attorney] may be a great probate lawyer, but [he's] not
servicing you [if he has no experience]."
Claimants also don't often know to seek medical
attention right away after an accident. If you don't and your injuries are still with you six months later,
claims of long-term injury are hard to prove because you don't have a doctor's documentation to back you up.
The lawyer's cut
Most personal injury lawyers work on a
contigency basis and don't charge a fee for an initial consultation. However, expect to give up at the
very least 25 percent of your settlement to your attorney.
Most lawyers take one-third of the settlement
agreement, but if you go to trial, expect the barrister's cut to reach 40 percent. Some lawyers take as much
as 50 percent of the settlement after a trial, says Kovacs. "I think taking 40 percent is
unconscionable," he says.
In rare cases, lawyers will charge an hourly rate,
but Kovacs and Meckler say 99 percent of the time attorneys will take one-third of the settlement. The fees
attorneys can take may seem exorbitant, but they are within the limits of the law. Most states have
authorized personal injury lawyers to take up to 40 percent of a settlement they negotiate.
How long till I get my money?
Many severe auto accident cases that Meckler handles
last about nine months; but that includes only injury-recovery time and arbitration, not the trial process.
The injury-recovery process is the most time-consuming, but most important, lasting six months on average.
"There's no reason the [settlement] can't be resolved within 90 days after that, unless you have to
file a lawsuit," Meckler says.
Kovacs also tells Insure.com that the general time
frame for an injury settlement is about nine months. If you decide to file a lawsuit, but the suit is
settled before it goes to trial, expect a resolution about 13 months after the accident.
If you go to trial, "Lord help us all,"
says Kovacs of the snail's pace of litigation.
In medium-sized jurisdictions with populations of
around 250,000, two-and-a-half years is not an unheard-of trial length. In larger jurisdictions, such as
Cleveland, New York, or Miami, a verdict issued three or four years from the date of the accident is common.
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