Many attorneys who do not practice personal injury exclusively look at an accident case like a quick money maker. The key to properly representing your client is to allow the case to “percolate” is the term I like to use. If there is ample insurance money available, whether through liability coverage or a combination of liability and supplemental underinsured motorist coverage (see previous blogs), you do your client a disservice if you settle too quickly.
I recently had a motor vehicle accident case for an off-duty police officer in his 30’s. Initially the case appeared to be soft tissue – no obvious big injury, no fractures, no lost time from work. Over 2 years, the case evolved from conservative care to injection therapy to more intensive injection treatments and then eventually to neck surgery. I knew from experience that the path was not complete during the first year after the accident but many of my colleagues would have settled at that point. I had offers of $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 and on and on. Eventually, between liability coverage and SUM coverage, we obtained the maximum recovery possible for this client, $300,000.
The value of the right attorney is someone who will exercise their own patience (and yours) to get you everything possible by way of compensation.