Massachusetts Personal Injury Blog

Factors that Help Determine if a Massachusetts Personal Injury Settlement Offer is Fair

1) It compensates for the medical treatment the injury victim had to endure;

2) It covers the medical bills and liens that must be paid out of the settlement;

3) It adequately compensates the injury victim for lost wages, and if applicable, future lost wages or impairment of earning capacity;

4) It fairly compensates for the physical pain and suffering the injuries have caused, and will cause in the future:

5) The settlement number puts the injury victim in the position they were in prior to the accident (also known as  'making the victim whole').

Helpful Tips for Those Going Through the Personal Injury Claims Process

The aftermath of an auto accident, slip and fall, injury at work, or any other injury causing event can cause great stress to not only the injury victim, but also to his or her family.  Oftentimes, the experience of going through the personal injury claim process can be just as anguishing as the personal injury event that lead to the claim. 

In order to make the aftermath just a little easier for you, here are my tips to those who have an attorney and are going through the typically frustrating and lengthy personal injury claim process:

1)  Trust your attorney (if you can't trust your attorney, find a new one immediately);

2)  Be patient.  Rome was not built in a day, and neither is a strong personal injury claim.  Give your attorney the time he or she needs to work the case up to where it needs to be for an optimum settlement/jury verdict;

3)  Stay in touch with your attorney. Check in with your attorney from time to time to tell him or her about the status of your medical treatment, and to never be afraid to call your attorney for a status update;

4)  Don't ever take anything personally.  If your attorney tells you that the insurance company feels the accident was your fault, or takes the position that you were not injured, try not to get worked up and remember that the only way to get an insurance company to pay is to fight them;

5)  Never lie.  Since everything you and your attorney talk about relative to your case is confidential, always tell him or her the truth so your attorney can work to get you the best result possible.

Mediating a Car Accident Claim in Massachusetts

I found this post over at San Francisco Mediation: A Better Solution authored by San Francisco Attorney Paula M. Lawhon that caught my attention because of its informative analysis of mediation in the context of a personal injury case.  It deftly chronicles the mediation process from start to finish.  If you will soon be involved in a mediation, irrespective of the type of case you have, I recommend checking out this post:

Here's an example of a recent personal injury mediation from a serious car accident (with some details changed to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the parties and the mediation):

The parties at the mediation were the injured woman (the plaintiff) and her attorney as well as the insurance carrier and the attorney appointed by the insurance carrier to defend the driver against the plaintiff's claims of serious personal injury from the car accident. The driver was not present because the insurance carrier and its attorney were there to represent his interests and they had the authority needed to make the decisions. (This is why we pay for car insurance.) The plaintiff was seeking almost $1 million in damages.

Pros and Cons of Settling Out of Court

Dallas, Texas lawyer Bob Kraft over at his P.I.S.S.D blog has a great guest post from Chris Jacobson of Criminal Justice Degee.com regarding the pros and cons of settlement.  Here is this very informative and useful post:

No one really wants to go to court and go through the long and often messy process that is a trial, but when it comes to claiming what’s rightfully yours, it’s not good to give up without a fight. And that’s where your personal injury lawyer comes into the picture and helps you deal with not just your monetary compensation, but also the emotional fallout as well. By helping you understand your case better and providing you with the psychological boost you need to stay out of depression in this trying time, your attorney can make your life much easier by helping you decide if it is better to take the case to court or settle outside after mediation or arbitration.

There are both pros and cons to settling out of court, and even though each case is unique, the following apply to most cases in general.

On the plus side:

• The settlement is usually quicker and the money is in your hand sooner than you expect it – this helps take care of medical expenses and other immediate costs without having to incur debt.
• You save yourself and your family the agony and stress of going through a long and arduous trial – it takes up a major part of your life and your work and other aspects suffer as a result. You have to be in court on all the days of the trial, and this could wreak havoc with your professional and social life.
• You can keep the details of the case, and much of your personal life, outside the court and public records. With out-of-court settlements, you can ask for a confidentiality agreement where the details of the case are kept private and out of public records.
• Also, you don’t have to relive the experience for a jury and suffer the questions of an avid defense attorney.
• Even though most attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, you will incur some costs during the trial and you’ll find it hard to make ends meet, what with the medical and other expenditure that’s already on your head.
• A court case can take years to reach a conclusion, and even when it does, appeals filed by the other party can drag it even further.

On the minus side however:

• The amount you get is sometimes less than what a jury would have awarded in a civil court.
• Frequently, the damages take into account only the actual cost of injury (medical expenditure, accidental damage to property, and so on) and does not provide for punitive damages or emotional and mental agony suffered or loss of job or the quality of life.

It would seem like the most sensible thing to do when fighting a personal injury case is to ask for an out-of-court arbitration and settlement, and trust your lawyer to get you the best possible deal based on your circumstances. Even though the compensation may be less, it saves you the hassle of a long-drawn out court trial and the agony of prolonging your bitter experience for longer than necessary. However, talk to your attorney and make the best decision for your case, based on the facts and details available.

 

 

Accidents Involving Tourists in Boston

According to USA Today roughly 19 million visitors pass through Boston each year.  It is no surprise given all that Boston has to offer.  With such a huge number of visitors, it is no wonder that many are injured.  Many visitors are injured in car accidents, slip and falls, and other types of accident cases.  Visitors are sometimes more prone to accidents given their lack of familiarity with Boston.  However, the fact that you do not live in Massachusetts does not mean you cannot hire a Massachusetts lawyer to represent you.

My office has represented out-of-state clients injured in car accidents, hotels, stores, trains, on escalators, etc.  If you or someone you know has been injured while a visitor in Boston, feel free to call my office.  We would be happy to provide a no-obligation phone consultation.  

Pre-Settlement Funding

This is a topic I deal with quite frequently when representing personal injury victims.  Often, my clients will call me and tell me the accident they were involved in has financially harmed them so much, they are willing to take a loan out.  The loan is typically financed by a pre-settlement funding company.  When my clients ask me about this option, I try very hard to persuade them not to take out such a loan, because the interest rates can be daunting. 

Basically, the way it works is this: the pre-settlement funding company will closely analyze the client's case, and loan application, and then decide whether or not the case is strong enough to guarantee the company will recoup their money, once the case settles.

I am only a proponent of these loans if and only if the client absolutely needs the money and is willing to pay the very high interest rates.  Peachtree, based in Florida, has a good reputation, as well as very favorable interest rates.   

10 Reasons Why I Love Mediation

I am a very strong proponent of mediation because it offers so many advantages for my injured clients.  Trials are expensive, unpredictable, stressful, and if possible, avoidable with mediation.  Here are some  reasons that make mediation so attractive for Massachusetts personal injury claimants:

1) it is relatively inexpensive (roughly $500/side for a half-day);

2) it is confidential;

3) it is relative quick, and does not last for many days, unlike jury trials;

4) it allows both sides, with the help of a neutral, to see and realize the strengths and weaknesses for both sides;

 5) it is non-binding (either side can walk out if unhappy, without consequence);

6) it allows the injury victim the opportunity to achieve closure without the unpredictability of a jury trial;

7) it is a cooperative forum , as opposed to an antagonistic one (jury trials are at their essence, antagonistic);

8) it allows the parties to control the outcome of the case, unlike a jury trial which gives control of the case to the jury;

9) it allows each side to save thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars on litigation costs that will be required to 'work the case up' for trial;

10) it allows the parties the flexibility to fashion creative problem solving solutions, which is not possible with a jury trial. 

'Should I Take Out a Loan With a Settlement Funding Company While My Injury Case is Pending?'

NO!  Never.  These lenders offer loans to those who have pending personal injury claims open, in the hopes of hooking injury victims who are financially strapped and will agree to unreasonable loan repayments terms. 

I always counsel my injury clients not to take out such loans, unless it is absolutely necessary.  These lending companies charge unreasonably high interest rates and fees that you will be paying back for years.  Therefore, you need to think long and hard before taking out this type of loan.

If you must take out such a loan, I have heard from colleagues that PeachTree is a sensible alternative, but only if you are absolutely desperate for the money.

Some of the Factors That Determine if a Settlement Number is Fair

1) It compensates for the medical treatment the injury victim had to endure;

2) It covers the medical bills and liens that must be paid out of the settlement;

3) It adequately compensates injury victim for lost wages, and if applicable, future lost wages or impairment of earning capacity;

4) It fairly compensates for the physical pain and suffering the injuries have caused, and will cause in the future:

5) The settlement number puts the injury victim in the position they were in prior to the accident (also known as  'making the victim whole').