ig

Do You Really Need a Lawyer?

by Rolando Pasquali

onlitigation insurance bad faithlitigation Title VII lawye will contests

I'll answer this question like a typical lawyer... It depends. First, not all disputes end up “going to court.” My best and heartfelt advice is, if the dispute is simple and can be worked out (two neighbors arguing over a fence, for example) stay away from attorneys and stay out of court. Once litigation begins, you’re in for the ride of your life and you won’t enjoy any part of it. This adage holds true regardless of how much money you end up with in the end. Remember, the more seriously you’re injured, the bigger the potential damage award the defendant will have to pay. Accordingly, the harder the other side is going to fight before pulling out their checkbook.

Usually, people think about hiring an attorney when they feel “wronged.” This includes everything from automobile accident victims thru complex business or real estate disputes. Business disputes worth litigating always require an attorney. Personal injury matters, on the other hand, are governed by the extent of your injuries. Let’s talk dollars and cents.

If you were hurt but your injuries resolved within a relatively short period of time, the amount of your economic damages (medical bills plus lost wages) necessarily dictates the value of your case. As a rough guide in calculating economic damages use the total bill, regardless of how much was paid for by insurance, or, in the case of lost wages, the value of the time lost regardless of sick-pay or disability pay received by the worker. If you have Kaiser, or a similar HMO, do not use your “co-pay” amount, instead, use the value that you would have been charged in the marketplace by a non-member private doctor or hospital. My personal rule of thumb is that if the plaintiff doesn’t have at least $3,500 in economic damages, the person is better off trying to settle the case on their own directly with the insurance company. The reason for this is simple, in a personal-injury case which didn’t happen at work, you’re typically going to pay a lawyer 1/3 of the settlement amount as a fee. If you only went to the doctor a couple of times, and your combined damages total, say, $1,000, you might get an insurance adjuster to pay you $2,000 for your claim. A lawyer is going to have to get $3,000 for you to just break even!

Once economic damages are over $5,000, and in all cases involving broken bones, surgery, or permanent injury of any kind, you’re probably going to get more in the long run if a skilled and experienced attorney is representing you; the reason being that insurance companies make money by collecting premiums and keeping claims down. They’re not going to write big checks without being certain that the claim is worth it. That usually means the filing of a lawsuit and active litigation.

Both insurance companies and major corporations have a combination of so-called “house counsel” and “outside” law firms to help them. In a serious case, you should too. For these situations, another old adage is appropriate, “every person who acts as his own lawyer has a fool for a client.”

- by Rolando Pasquali