An experienced Colorado personal injury attorney will never settle a case until the client has completed medical treatment.
Patience, Knowledge, and Negotiating Skills Benefit Clients
Most personal injury cases settle out of court, many times even before a lawsuit is filed. In fact, only four percent to five percent of all personal injury cases in the U.S. go to trial.
Personal injury attorneys are committed to settling cases before it becomes necessary to file a lawsuit, not only to save their clients money, but also to minimize the risk for everyone involved. But how does a Colorado accident attorney go about settling cases in a timely manner, while still pursuing maximum compensation for his or her clients?
They know not to settle too soon.
Experienced personal injury attorneys know to wait to settle until completion of injury treatments, including chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, physical therapy, orthopedic surgery, and pain intervention. If settlement happens too early, some damages will likely not be accounted for, including future damages, particularly for those who sustain serious or permanent injuries.
They understand how to value the case accurately.
An experienced attorney will know how to value your case based upon the severity of the damages suffered. While economic damages, such as medical bills and lost wages, can be relatively easy to put a monetary value on, non-economic damages such as pain, suffering, and loss of consortium can be difficult to quantify. Some damages may not become apparent until days, weeks, or even months after the accident; a seasoned attorney will know this and ensure that you are compensated fairly for those as well. Although establishing a value for a case is far from an exact science, an experienced personal injury attorney will have a general formula to give clients a rough idea of what it should settle for.
They factor in each party’s fault.
Experienced attorneys don’t just come up with a value for your case based upon your damages. They consider fault: who is to blame for the accident. Colorado utilizes a modified comparative fault standard, meaning that a plaintiff’s total damages award will be decreased according to the level of his own relative fault for his injuries. As long as an injured person’s degree of fault is below 50 percent, he will be able to recover a reduced damage award, but if his fault for the accident is determined to be 50 percent or more, he will be barred from recovering anything.
They are skilled negotiators.
After you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), your attorney will draft a settlement demand, send it to the insurance company, and start to negotiate. A seasoned negotiator will not expect the insurance company to settle the case for the amount demanded and will typically decline the first offer and present a counteroffer. Then the insurance company will come back with another offer of settlement, and if your lawyer knows the true worth of your case, he won’t be tempted to accept less. Negotiations will continue until a reasonable settlement is reached.
If you are looking for a skilled personal injury lawyer who will settle your Colorado auto accident case for maximum compensation, contact personal injury attorney Dan Rosen for a free initial consultation to discuss the details of your accident.