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Civil Actions
By
David Day |
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According to the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, state laws
introduced in the past few years have limited the liability of businesses
and, thereby, made it more difficult for plaintiffs to bring and win
medical-malpractice and product-liability suits; however, this should not
discourage those who have suffered injuries of these sorts, however. To begin
with, most lawyers take personal injury cases on a contingency basis, which
means they are paid an attorneys' fee only if they win. Beyond that,
plaintiffs should have realistic expectations about damage awards in the
event they do win. The median award for winners of personal injury cases that
go to trial is $51,000. This means that some few awards are substantially
larger, while many awards are substantially less or involve no recovery
whatsoever. Prospective litigants should discuss their chances with a lawyer.
In my experience, one of the hardest things to address with a client is the
amount of money they may recover by settlement or trial. Because of the
insurance companies propaganda and slanted media reports, many clients only
hear of the large verdicts from cases like the "McDonald's spilled
coffee" and feel their claim is worth quite a bit. Another complication
is that clients hear what their friends or co-workers have recovered in their
claims, and feel that they are hurt as bad or worse and should obtain as much
or more. What many clients fail to understand is that each case succeeds or
fails on its own facts, and no two cases are the same. The client also needs
to understand that each panel of jurors has different perceptions of what if
good or bad, valuable or invaluable, in terms of losses. It is important to
listen to you attorney who has experience in dealing with the many facets of
a personal injury claim when evaluating what you may recover at trial. Do not
be too hasty to think you will get a large recovery when in fact the evidence
may not be there; however, do not be to quick to feel that you have no claim
when in fact your evidence indicates a just reward. Get some advise before
making a final decision. |
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