Q: I was seriously injured in an accident. Why do I need to hire an attorney to be fully compensated by the insurance company when I should receive maximum compensation?
Q: Should I be disappointed if the monetary settlement amount I ultimately may receive is not the exact amount I originally asked for?
Q: What types of damages can I recover from the at-fault party?
Q: What is the responsible party not required to pay the plaintiff?
Q: If I am deciding on whether to pursue the case to trial or settle the case, what should I take into consideration if I am in that position?
Q: How often do accident injury cases settle?
Q: What factors are used in formulating a fair settlement figure in an accident injury case?
Q: Is there some magic figure that represents the fair settlement value for a case?
Q: I was seriously injured in an accident. Why do I need to hire an attorney to be fully compensated by the insurance company when I should receive maximum compensation?
A: The reality is that the system for being compensated for injuries suffered is an adversarial system between the injured individual and the at-fault party's insurance company. Insurance companies are in control of the money they will pay on specific cases and often have the upper hand against an individual who is not represented by an experienced lawyer. Injured people who want to be fully and fairly compensated "must pay the price of admission into the adversarial system," so to speak, by obtaining an experienced and skilled personal injury lawyer to represent them against the insurance company. In most circumstances, insurance companies will pay the "full value" on settlements if a qualified and experienced lawyer represents the claimant. TOP Q: Should I be disappointed if the monetary settlement amount I ultimately may receive is not the exact amount I originally asked for?
A: Injured people feel the pain and problems caused by the injury more acutely and intensely than anyone else, who was not involved in the accident, ever will. For this reason, injured people often seek a monetary sum that would compensate them for all the emotional and physical pain they have experienced since the injury. However, the reality is that the pain and trauma a person experiences after being injured often far exceeds the money that is available to compensate them. Further, the decision-makers, such as the jurors, judges, and arbitrators, who are responsible for the ultimate amount an injured person may recover are under a duty to be objective and cannot decide on a monetary sum of recovery based on how they would have felt in your situation. TOP Q: What types of damages can I recover from the at-fault party?
A: The types of damages you may be able to recover if you suffered a bodily injury and were involved in an automobile, trucking, motorcycle, bus, bicycle, construction, commercial premises, or pedestrian accident are the reasonable value of past and future (1) medical services, (2) lost income or income-earning ability, (3) pain and suffering (mental and physical), (4) disability, and (5) emotional distress. There are other possible types of recovery, but these are the core types of damage claims. The law also requires the jury to "fairly compensate" the plaintiff, assuming the defendant is found to be liable for the plaintiff's injuries. TOP Q: What is the responsible party not required to pay the plaintiff?
A: Some injured people are surprised to find out that the justice system does limit the types of recovery injured accident victims can receive from at-fault parties. The following items below are types of cost that the other side, the defendant, cannot be obligated to pay for various reasons: - Punitive Damages: In Washington State there is essentially no such thing as punitive damages, which are damages intended to punish the wrongdoer, because Washington state law prohibits them. The most that wrongdoers have to pay for their conduct is what the plaintiff lost due to the defendant's acts. When the media reports on an extremely high verdict, the verdict is often rendered in a state where punitive damages are permitted.
- Plaintiff's Attorney's Fees: Washington State generally follows the "American Rule," subject to certain exceptions, which is essentially that all parties in litigation must bear their own attorney's fees and expenses. This is completely distinguishable from rules in other jurisdictions that allow the party that "wins" to collect attorney's fees from the party that lost.
Additionally, the fact that you have attorney's fees that must be paid at the end of the lawsuit is not a legal "element" of your damages that can be presented to the jury. Thus, plaintiff lawyers hope that the jury will realize that they should account for attorney's fees when and if they are determining the amount to award the plaintiff, since judges and lawyers must remain silent on this issue. TOP Q: If I am deciding on whether to pursue the case to trial or settle the case, what should I take into consideration if I am in that position?
A: Even though the factors people should consider depend on a case-by-case basis, injured people who decide to sue the responsible party should be aware that although the insurance company, in fact, controls and pays for the defense of the case against the at-fault party, judges and lawyers are required by law to remain silent on this point and the actual party being sued is the responsible individual, not the insurance company. Despite the probability that juries might already suspect that the insurance company must be involved somehow in the case, the judge instructs the jury to be fair to both parties. At the end of the trial, the jury may not be inclined to impose a large judgment against the defendant, because the defendant who is being sued is typically someone they can identify with. Another consideration is that an insurance company can easily pay the costs that result if the company's policyholder loses the lawsuit against the injured plaintiff. However, many plaintiffs, who are often ordinary citizens, cannot afford to pay for actual out-of-pocket expenses (not attorney's fees, which are contingent upon the outcome of the case) of putting on a trial if the case is rejected or having a judgment denied by the jury, judge, or arbitrator. Injured plaintiffs can be in severe financially difficulty if they are saddled with the out-of-pocket expenses of putting on a trial. Q: How often do accident injury cases settle?
A: Most claims are settled between the plaintiff's counsel and the insurance company’s adjusters or lawyers without trial. The Law Offices of James S. Sorrels settles approximately 95 percent of claims, as do other lawyers who are practicing in the same field. TOP Q: What factors are used in formulating a fair settlement figure in an accident injury case?
At the Law Offices of James S. Sorrels, we take several factors into consideration when determining the appropriate settlement figure to which our injured clients are entitled. These factors include the following: - Circumstances of the accident: We look at how the accident occurred and the degree of responsibility of all the parties involved, including the defendant and the plaintiff. The reason we look at the plaintiff's possible degree of fault is that the insurance company will have some bargaining leverage if it appears that the plaintiff, in addition to the defendant, was somehow at fault for causing the accident.
- Vehicles involved: We look at the photos and descriptions of the vehicles involved in the accident. If the images of the accident are not that serious, then the insurance company has more bargaining leverage because jurors are affected by what they see. Jurors often wonder how bad the accident is and if they see that the collision did not appear "that bad" they may be less inclined to find in favor of the plaintiff. However, it is scientifically established that minor impacts can cause major injuries and although jurors are told this during trial, some are reluctant to accept this information.
- Course of Medical Treatments: A possible bargaining advantage for insurance companies is if the injured person had medical treatments that were minor in duration or amount, or if there were gaps in medical treatment.
- No Time Lost From Work: If the injured victim did not lose any significant amount of time from work due to his or her injury or had normal documented activities, then the claim amount may be lowered and the insurance carrier has relatively more leverage than the injured person.
- Types of Actual Injuries or Complaints Made to Treating Physicians: If injured individuals suffer primarily "whip-lash" type symptoms, for example, the general population unfortunately views these symptoms skeptically.
- Evidence of "Objective Proof" of Injuries: We carefully review the evidence regarding "objective-proof" of the accident victim's injuries, such as x-rays, electrical tests on muscles, state-of-the-art "scans," surgical findings, spasms documented by therapists or doctors, and more. In general, the more proof we have of the injuries sustained, the more bargaining leverage the injured victim has, because the insurance company's lawyer is unable to use the lack of proof of injury against the injured person.
- Medical History of claimant: Many adults often have medical histories that consist of pre-accident complaints. Ideally, the fewer the number of pre-accident complaints the better for the injured person in terms of negotiating a settlement figure with the insurance company.
- Additional Injuries After the Accident: If the injured person incurs additional injuries after the accident, which causes problems as well, the injured person can expect the defendant to "subtract" all of those problems from the host of problems the at-fault party caused, trying to deflect as much of the blame for the injured person's situation as possible.
- Other Serious Illnesses or Conditions: If the injured person has other serious illnesses, conditions, or diseases unconnected to the accident, that impacted the injured person's life before the accident, then the insurance company may argue that the injured person deserves less than what he or she is asking for because the pre-existing illness or condition contributed to the impairment of the injured person's quality of life.
- Negative Things That Can Be Said: We also take a hard and honest look at the negative things that can be said about the injured person, particularly the negative things that may be said by people the jury will find trustworthy, such as the injured person's doctors, police officers, employers, and independent witnesses. Additionally, the injured person's records, including medical, employment, income or tax records, may contain negative statements and these statements are important as well.
The medical records, doctors' statements, and other records are carefully reviewed for the following: (a) the patient did not follow instructions, making the situation worse; (b) the patient has other serious physical conditions which have caused serious problems, but the patient insists that the accident is the cause of all problems; (c) the patient's complaints of pain are exaggerated; (d) the patient's report of what happened in the accident is inconsistent or one-sided; (e) the patient denies previous problems of this nature, but the pre-accident records actually show many of the same problems; and (f) the patient seems overly concerned about obtaining compensation from a lawsuit. Overall, we consider how the evidence will appear in front of a jury or arbitrator and the possible outcomes, such as how will the client "come across" and what will the doctor say. We take a balanced and "hard" approach even on our own clients to avoid serious mistakes from occurring. We also consider the length of time involved, asking how long it will take to get "from here to there;" the costs; and what it is "worth" to the injured victim to have the case behind him or her in order avoid the chance of a negative outcome. TOP Q: Is there some magic figure that represents the fair settlement value for a case?
A: There is no single magic number that represents the fair value of a case. The "range" of fair settlement values comes as a result of a multitude of reasons, such as the following: - Personal Experience: From personally handling cases day in and day out, attorney James S. Sorrels has a keen sense of the core values of a claim and subtracts from that amount based on a variety of factors.
- Previous settlements and jury verdicts: Even though there is no scale or schedule to consult to determine a fair settlement figure, we do arrive at a range of figures based on prior settlements and jury verdicts.
- Legal publications: Some legal publications report some settlements that are reached and nearly all jury trial verdicts.
- Verdict reporting service: We also have a verdict reporting service, which provides brief case descriptions and case results. In addition, many cases are submitted to the court-supervised arbitration program and we have summary reports of arbitration decisions for the past several years.
Our firm is able to provide clients with knowledgeable and fair assessments of settlement values due to the resources named above and due to the extensive experience Mr. Sorrels has in both personal injury law and insurance disputes. For an experienced and knowledgeable personal injury attorney, contact the Law Offices of James S. Sorrels, located in Edmonds, Washington, for more information or to arrange a consultation.
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