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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
After obtaining all the necessary information and after your medical condition has stabilized, we typically do a demand to the insurance company or adverse party demanding a settlement on your behalf. The last thing we want to do is resolve a case while our client is still healing or does not have a clear understanding of their future medical condition. Our fear is to let a client settle a case and then find out shortly thereafter that they need future surgery or other significant medical needs. If your cases does not settle “presuit,” then the next step in a lawsuit.
Pursuing a lawsuit is very time consuming. There are many things that occur after a lawsuit is prepared, filed and delivered to the adverse party. The parties engage in discovery, which allows both sides to obtain sworn oral testimony, submit written questions to be answered under oath and request production of documents.
Even though a law suit is filed this does not mean it will go to trial. Several opportunities to settle may be offered in litigation. In Florida, it is mandatory to attend court ordered mediation which is where the parties sit down with an independent mediator and try to resolve the issues and settle the case. Finally, the case is set for jury trial by a judge who determines when your trial will be set.
Most insurance companies contact you immediately after an accident because they are trying to settle your case for as little as possible. Some insurance companies will even write to their own policy holders asking them not to get an attorney. The reason they do this is because they know that a settlement with an unrepresented injured person will be lower than that of a person represented by an attorney. Always remember that the insurance adjusters are very experienced, they work for the insurance company and they do not have your best interests at heart.
If you settle without representation by an attorney, experience shows the result will be an underpayment of what your claim or your case may really be worth. Do not attempt to negotiate your personal injury case on your own. Contact an attorney for a consultation.