Personal Injury Claims Among Friends & Family: A Delicate Situation
Posted in: Ohio Personal Injury
KNR Legal Blog
When you have a valid personal injury or wrongful death claim, you need to work with the right team of attorneys. This is your chance to hold the at-fault party responsible for your injuries and recover the compensation you need. Your top priority should be building the strongest case possible to maximize a potential settlement or court ruling in your favor. However, if you work with a settlement mill, your lawyers may not build you the strongest case or take all the steps necessary to secure what you really deserve. To ensure your lawyer puts up a real fight, you need to work with a real litigation team who is not afraid to face the at-fault party and their insurer in court.
Get the representation you deserve and recover everything you need. Call the Ohio personal injury lawyers with Kisling, Nestico & Redick today. We offer 100% free consultations, no up-front costs, and you won’t owe anything unless you recover compensation.
Call 1-800-HURT-NOW or contact us online.
Settlement mills are law firms that focus on quickly settling clients’ cases to make money as fast as possible. They rarely—if ever—take personal injury claims to court. Instead, they focus solely on obtaining insurance claim settlements out of court. These firms are profitable by taking on and settling as many cases as they can.
Unfortunately, these hurried insurance claim settlements may be lower than accident victims deserve because the insurer believes there is little danger of a personal injury lawsuit. These minimal settlements enable the law firm to receive their portion of the settlement—but leave many victims without enough money to cover all of their expenses.
Settlement mills look like they get results. However, the outcomes of most of their cases are not as good as they should be and are typically far less than what a true litigator could have obtained by following through with a personal injury lawsuit.
It is one thing to know you should avoid a settlement mill; it is another to actually be able to identify these law firms and avoid them. This is particularly difficult since many personal injury claims do actually settle. Settlements are not inherently bad outcomes. However, there is a big difference between a law firm that encourages clients to accept a fast and low settlement versus a firm that is ready and willing to fight hard for you to receive the maximum compensation possible—whether through a settlement or by going to trial.
When researching a law firm, look at their case results. Do they only announce settlements or are there also court rulings in their favor and favorable outcomes secured after fierce negations?
Read carefully through their website. Does the law firm advertise that they obtain settlements quickly or as fast as possible? If you schedule a consultation with the firm, ask how often they settle cases and how quickly they tend to settle. If they claim to settle nearly 100 percent of their cases, or that they settle most cases within a couple of months, be wary.
Do they recommend you not file a personal injury lawsuit, or do they charge more for filing a personal injury lawsuit? If during a consultation, you learn that the law firm’s contingency fee is higher for filing a lawsuit than if you only pursue a settlement, the firm may be a settlement mill. Also, if the attorney you speak to is clearly unwilling or hesitant to file a lawsuit, they may not be willing to work as hard for you as you deserve.
There are several reasons why you benefit from working with experienced and skill litigators versus a settlement mill. Litigators insist on investigating your claim, gathering evidence, and building the strongest case possible. Settlement mill teams rarely take such care in learning the unique details of your claim.
A real litigation team believes in being trial ready. When you work with Kisling, Nestico & Redick, our lawyers do not put the prospect of filing a personal injury lawsuit on the backburner. From the minute we take on your case, we will prepare for having to take your claim all the way through trial—even when we believe an appropriate settlement is possible. This ensures we are never unprepared if a settlement falls through.
During many personal injury claims, filing a lawsuit is either necessary or advantageous. Sometimes, the only way to obtain evidence you need to support your claim is to file a lawsuit and go through the discovery process. Settlement mills, which do not file lawsuits, fail to gain the evidence you need to support your argument and maximize your settlement.
Filing a lawsuit also shows an insurer you are serious about recovering the maximum amount of compensation possible. When settlement mills avoid filing, insurers know they can push low settlement offers.
At Kisling, Nestico & Redick, we understand how enticing settlement mills can be. These firms tend to heavily advertise, and focus on getting their clients money quickly. When you are facing unexpected medical expenses and are out of work while your normal bills pile up, a fast settlement sounds good. However, if you talk with an experienced personal injury litigator, you may learn your case is worth much more than the initial lowball settlement an insurer offers. Under these circumstances, you need an attorney who is willing to go to court to get you the financial recovery you deserve.
To talk with our litigation team at Kisling, Nestico & Redick about how we can help you, contact us online or call 1-800-HURT-NOW to schedule a free consultation.