Semi-Accident and huge medical and long term bills

[las365]

Hi Adam and welcome to the boards. I just want to say that absent more knowledge of the facts i think it is premature to predict a seven figure recovery in this case. As you know, the expectations that creates can really hamper getting a client to agree to a settlement that is based in reality when the time comes.

I am not an attorney but I do work for a firm that handles high value PI cases. And I am in Texas where the value of PI cases has been driven down by a combination of the death of the made whole doctrine, the successful jury pool taint from the "greedy plaintiff gets millions from frivolous lawsuit" public relations campaigns of the past 20 years or so, and appellate courts knocking down jury awards, so I am in a different climate than OP's state.

All I'm saying is that if a person gets his mind set on a million dollars or more, it can create problems.

 

[Adam G]

Hi Adam and welcome to the boards. I just want to say that absent more knowledge of the facts i think it is premature to predict a seven figure recovery in this case. As you know, the expectations that creates can really hamper getting a client to agree to a settlement that is based in reality when the time comes.

I am not an attorney but I do work for a firm that handles high value PI cases. And I am in Texas where the value of PI cases has been driven down by a combination of the death of the made whole doctrine, the successful jury pool taint from the "greedy plaintiff gets millions from frivolous lawsuit" public relations campaigns of the past 20 years or so, and appellate courts knocking down jury awards, so I am in a different climate than OP's state.

All I'm saying is that if a person gets his mind set on a million dollars or more, it can create problems.

Hi las,

Your points are all well taken. You never can tell for absolute sure what's going to happen in litigation. There could be factual issues that we don't know about yet such as a problem with OP's father's vehicle that lead to the accident or some other reason for the defendant to challenge liability. A little more likely, IMO, is there is a reason for the insurance company to dispute coverage (missed a premium payments or something along those lines) or perhaps the insurer is going belly up and you have to go after the state insurance guaranty fund.

All of that said, if the OP's father is projecting to have $400k in out of pocket expenses and yet undertermined future disability, I'm still confident that this is a seven figure case. This is no reason for the OP to refuse to take less than seven figures if the defendant finds a good faith defense to either liability or damages, of course. It's my opinion based on my experience and my knowledge of the facts limited to what was presented to me.

Obviously this all varies state to state. I have a handful of friends who practice PI law in Texas. According to them, the state legislature and supreme court have been bought and paid for by the insurance industry, so if you get hurt in Texas then you're in a lot worse shape than you would be in other states. I don't believe Indiana is so insurance company owned.