Insurance Companies’ Tactics
Insurance companies oftentimes will put an extraordinary amount of time and money into defending your injury claim. They know by doing this, they may have to pay out less money for legitimate injury claims. I am fully aware of these practices. Earlier in my career, I worked as a lawyer on behalf of insurance companies defending injury claims in court. Here at Meagher Injury Lawyers, we offer a free case review, feel free to contact us today.
Chad’s Story
Let me tell you the story of my past client, Chad. Chad’s case involved a car accident case, but the lesson I’m about to teach you with his story applies to all types of personal injury claims, including slip and trip and fall injury cases, dog bite injury cases, and any other type of personal injury claim.
The Accident
Chad’s case was referred to me by another injury lawyer so I could file a lawsuit on his case. Chad was in a two-vehicle accident in a rural area on a two-lane narrow road. The facts were disputed, but it was our position that Chad was traveling on the narrow road when the other driver attempted to pull out onto the narrow road to make a left turn in front of Chad’s approaching vehicle, crossing into Chad’s lane of travel. The other driver jerked his wheel to the left in an attempt to re-enter the parking lot. Chad braked and veered to the left to attempt to avoid the collision. However, the other vehicle’s passenger side struck the passenger side of Chad’s vehicle. Chad was in the left-hand lane, the lane the other driver was turning onto when the collision occurred.
Denial of Liability
The other driver’s insurance company denied liability for the accident. They claimed Chad caused the accident, alleging that Chad was driving at an excessive speed. It also claimed that had Chad maintained his lane of travel, the collision would have never occurred. The other driver’s insurance company spent a significant amount of time and money defending Chad’s case.
Filing the Lawsuit
After I filed the lawsuit, the other driver’s insurance company hired a lawyer to defend the claim. We answered written discovery questions, and the other driver’s insurance company asked me to file a lawsuit against Chad. The other driver, through the assistance of the defense lawyer, answered the written discovery questions I sent to them. The defense lawyer took Chad’s deposition. I took the other driver’s deposition. The deposition of a witness who heard the accident but did not see the accident was also taken.
Mediation and Trial Preparation
A mediation was held, but the case still did not settle. We have a trial date set for a week in January 2021. I took the video deposition of one of Chad’s treating physicians to be used at trial. The insurance company for the other driver hired an accident reconstruction expert to reconstruct the accident in order to have them testify in the case. We filed several pleadings required by the court prior to trial. However, the trial had to be delayed due to COVID-19. The court was shut down in January of 2021. We were informed by the court of this in December 2020, at a pre-trial conference, after we had done almost all the work necessary to get the case to a trial. We got another trial date for later in 2021.
Settlement Offer
By that time, we had proven to the insurance company we were willing to take the case to trial. Then, out of nowhere, before the trial date in 2021, we got a more reasonable offer from the insurance company to settle Chad’s claim. We negotiated back and forth, but eventually, we were able to resolve the case.
Fighting for Justice
I fought hard for Chad. We showed the insurance company we were more than willing to take the case to trial unless we got a reasonable offer for Chad’s injury claim. We weren’t going to back down. We would only settle for a fair and reasonable amount. We had prepared the case for trial, which forced the insurance company to spend a lot of time and money defending the case. Because we prepared to take Chad’s case to trial, the insurance company knew we meant business. If we were to get a judgment against their insurer for an amount over and above the insurance company’s last offer, or even worse, if we got a judgment against their insured driver over and above the policy limits, the insurance company would have been possibly facing insurance bad faith claims, which are separate claims that could have been filed in court directly against the insurance company for acting in bad faith and not making a claim.
Conclusion
We were able to resolve the case with a fair and reasonable offer in a timely manner. We put pressure on the insurance company. Preparing the case to go to trial, finally forced the insurance company’s hand to make us a fair and reasonable offer in Chad’s case. We proved we were willing to fight to get Chad a reasonable offer. By doing so, while it took a considerable amount of time, effort, and cost, we were able to get justice for Chad.
When to Settle Quickly
The thing is, you don’t always have to prepare your case for trial. In some cases, you should consider settling your injury claim fast shortly after your accident, long before you get close to a trial. In this video about to pop up here, I’ll tell you the circumstances under which you should consider settling your injury claim fast after your accident.
Final Advice
Lastly, if you’ve been injured in a car accident, slip and fall incident, or dog attack incident in Kentucky, remember: don’t wait, call Tate.
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