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SETTLEMENT OR TRIAL?
Before you hire a lawyer, ensure that your lawyer is experienced in a courtroom and is capable of trying your case. Only by hiring a lawyer who has a reputation of competently trying cases can you assure yourself of maximizing your settlement possibilities, for only if you are ready and willing to go to trial will an insurance company offer you its best dollars to avoid a trial. David Gorewitz, as a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, has a proven track record of trying cases to a successful conclusion.
Through proper trial preparations by an experienced attorney, people with serious injuries can oftentimes obtain settlements which fairly compensate them for those injuries, thereby avoiding the risks and unknowns of proceeding to trial.
The following are a few examples of the large number of cases we have settled over the years:
Fractured Vertebrae in the back to a 45-year-old seaman resulting in three back surgeries, a three-level fusion and in a total and permanent disability: $2,000,000.
Herniated Disc to a 30-year-old seaman in lumbar area of back resulting in two surgeries: $900,000.
Wrongful death vehicular accident: $1,000,000 (policy limits).
Pretrial detainee in the Brevard County jail, injured when struck by a food cart resulting in the development of RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a painful nerve disorder). A product liability lawsuit and a claim against the Jail’s medical providers resulted in a total recovery of $450,000.
Compound fracture-wrist to a 70 year-old RN working as a nurse on a merchant vessel - injured when she fell down a defective stairway. The demand prior to trial was $300,000. The offer was $200,000. After three days of trial in May 2006, the case settled for $275,000.
Although cases usually settle before trial and sometimes during trial, it is necessary at times to try cases because the parties are simply too far apart in their negotiations. Sometimes the failure to reach an agreement is because one of the parties is unrealistic in assessing the value of a given case. Oftentimes it is simply because some insurance companies or their personnel have a policy of playing hardball, refusing to reasonably negotiate no matter what the facts. Hereto, having an experienced trial lawyer to represent your interests is the best defense against an insurance company who will otherwise take advantage of your situation and predicament.
It is important to recognize that in Florida, parties who prevail at trial may be entitled to recover their attorney fees from the losing party. Strategy and experience are as important as preparation when attempting to obtain attorney fees through a trial.
The strategy for seeking attorney fees is especially suitable for an injured client who is unable to fairly settle his case due to insurance company inflexibility. We have on numerous occasions compelled the defendant's insurance company to pay attorney fees, in addition to the jury award, after a successful trial in favor of our clients. This has resulted in some of our clients being fully compensated for their injuries without their having to pay attorney fees out of their recovery.
Additionally, with a strategic threat of an award of attorney fees, many insurance companies will decide to offer more money in settlement rather than risk proceeding forward to trial.
Read an important attorney fee case we litigated all the way to the Florida Supreme Court:
Fifth District Court of Appeal
Florida Supreme Court
Ultimately, the decision to settle or try a case belongs only to the client with the advice and counsel of his/her attorney. |
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