Atlanta Personal Injury Attorney | Need Help?

May 09, 2012

WARNING!  Beware of “settlement” firms that won’t litigate!

You’ve seen them….high profile law firms that advertise aggressively, talk fast and scare you into calling at 2:00 am!  (Does “Mesothelioma” ring a bell?)

Usually, you call into an 800 number and are “assigned” to a lawyer in your area who has affiliated with the advertiser, either sharing fees or paying referral fees.

These firms operate in a different fashion from traditional law firms.  First of all, they almost always settle their cases, rather than going to trial.  To you, the client, this can mean leaving a ton of money on the table.

You see, they make money on their VOLUME of cases.  Taking a case to trial is time consuming and often not seen as “worth it” to these firms.  They file far fewer law suits than traditional firms and rarely take cases to trial.

You can bet that if you use a firm like this, you will have very little personal contact with a real Atlanta personal injury attorney, you are almost guaranteed NOT to go to trial, and your settlement will be far less than it would be with a traditional firm.

The problem with this methodology is that the negotiator does not have the benefit of important information.  They are not in a position to know the specific facts of your case, nor can they know how similar cases in your state have been resolved.

Rather, these firms deal with the insurance company’s mathematical calculation.  There is a cost/benefit analysis made both by the law firm and the insurance company as to the wisdom of going to trial.  If a settlement is cheaper than going to trial, the insurance company will offer some amount to simply get rid of the case.

If the Atlanta personal injury attorney representing the victim is willing to accept that low amount, then they both move on to the next case.  It is a win/win for both the insurance company and the attorney, who is most often keeping 30 % of the settlement amount.

It would appear that you and your attorney in this situation, have a conflict of interest.  What is in the best interest of the attorney is contrary to what is in YOUR best interest.

The personal injury attorney has little overhead, no real expenses (compared to going to trial) no hard work and simply moves on to the next case.  They do not spend any time preparing the case, investigating the facts, examining witnesses or drafting pleadings.

In fact, it is often true that the attorney delegates the negotiating to an assistant.  You, as the victim, may not ever speak to an attorney!

So, even if you could have gotten more for your claim, the reduced amount of time involved makes it worth while to the attorney.  You, on the other hand, are left with a smaller settlement than your case may really be worth.

Often, true victims of accidents receive little of what they deserve, had the case gone to trial and a judge or jury heard the facts of their case.

These negotiations with insurance adjusters often do not take much time…maybe 15 minutes!  Then, these victim-clients receive pressure from the attorney to accept whatever the offer is, no matter how low.  They are negotiated on the basis of formulas which are irrelevant to the facts of the case.

These law firms attract so much business due to their heavy advertising, that their need to represent each client “zealously” is extinguished.  They do not need to rely on a good reputation in the community for new clients because they have a steady flow of new clients brought in from their vast advertising.

As a word to the wise, please select your Atlanta personal injury attorney with great care and keep these things in mind.

Wishing you success.

Lisa Blackstone