Most accident victims would tell you they don’t want to take their case all the way to court for a jury trial. It’s a long and stressful process, and can potentially be a trigger for trauma to those who have been seriously injured. However, a good attorney should be willing and prepared to go to trial. It is arguably the biggest bargaining chip a personal injury lawyer has in negotiating with an insurance company.
Insurance companies pay attention to which personal injury attorneys have a track record of taking cases to and winning at trial. They will take into consideration the attorney’s trial experience and history of success when it comes to settlement negotiations.
Trial Attorneys Are A Risk To Insurance Companies
Trials are expensive, which is one reason insurance companies like to avoid going to trial if they can. And since juries are unpredictable, insurance companies see trial as a big risk. And we know that insurance companies like to mitigate risk as much as possible.
Because a true trial attorney presents a greater risk to the insurance company, insurers have a greater incentive to offer a reasonable settlement to accident victims who are represented by an attorney with trial experience.
Law firms which do not regularly take cases to trial are often referred to as settlement mills. Insurance companies know that settlement mills are more focused on efficiency than getting the best possible result, and therefore like to settle cases as quickly as possible. They want to avoid trial and will often leave money on the table, rather than fight for a bigger settlement for their client.
These types of firms lack the ability to use the threat of trial as a bargaining chip during negotiations, and insurance companies are more likely to “call their bluff.” This makes it more difficult for an attorney to command a fair and reasonable settlement offer from the insurance company.
Costs And Benefits Of Hiring A Personal Injury Lawyer
To justify the expense of hiring a lawyer to represent you after an accident, the attorney should be able to command a larger settlement than the accident victim could have gotten on their own, even after deducting attorney’s fees. Otherwise, what’s the point of hiring a lawyer in the first place?
Settlement mills are particularly eager to get their fee as quickly as possible, especially from those cases they pushed to sign that may not have even required the assistance of an attorney. They will sign-up any case that comes across their door rather than take the time and care to review the case and provide genuine and helpful feedback to any potential clients.
More established law firms with a reputation for helping their clients get the best possible result treat their clients with the same care and respect that you would expect from family.
Davis Law Group Is A Different Kind Of Personal Injury Firm
Davis Law Group is an established personal injury firm that focuses on getting excellent results,. We understand that accident victims want their cases to be resolved quickly, but sometimes good results take time and hard work to achieve. Our attorneys have been taking insurance companies to trial for nearly 30 years.
We often recover settlements that are several times the amount of the last offer the insurance company made to the client before hiring our attorneys or before we filed a lawsuit. Because of our success at trial in securing our clients a much larger result than they would have otherwise recovered, we have a stronger leverage point when it comes to negotiating for new clients.
Visit WashingtonAccidentBooks.com to learn more about your own legal rights, how to navigate the personal injury legal process, and how to find the right attorney for your case. Or call our office in Seattle at (206) 727-4000 to request a free legal consultation with our award-winning team.