Wow! New Illinois Workers Comp Case Helps the Injured, But Probably Wrong

One of the main fears of Illinois Workers Compensation attorneys (heck, any workers comp attorney, probably) is that, after settlements are drafted and approved and checks are sent out, it pops up.
What pops up? That medical bill that had been hiding in the client’s desk drawer, or lurking behind the bushes, or hanging from the [...]

Quick and Easy Ways to Estimate Vehicle Value for Property Damage Settlement

  
Any attorney who deals with car accidents will know just how important it is to resolve a client’s property damage claim as soon as possible. Of the many problems that face clients who have been in a car accident, the simple fact that they don’t have a vehicle for some time often creates as many [...]

Practice tip – find out insurance policy limits before negotiating

STOP!!!! Before you order medical records, hire experts, draft a demand letter, etc!!
Find out the limits of the defendant’s auto insurance policy first. Why spend a bunch of money if the medical bills are at or above the policy limits? Find out what you’re dealing with first – here’s how:
215 ILCS 5/143.24b provides that an [...]

“Why do I need a lawyer?” – Here’s your answer

I’ve had auto accident clients ask me during an initial consultation, or perhaps once a few weeks have passed without me settling their claim – “Why do we need a lawyer for this? Can you guarantee me that you’ll get me more on this case than I would if I handled it on my own?”
It’s [...]

Important Ethics Opinion for Illinois Attorneys and Personal Injury Settlements

Here’s a common situation in the personal injury context: Plaintiff’s attorney negotiates settlement with the defendant’s insurance company. The parties strike a deal, but only on the condition that the plaintiff’s attorney guarantee to pay all liens and subrogation interests out of the settlement proceeds. No problem, especially since the attorney would pay the liens [...]

Rock Island County Arbitration Statistics

I attended a meeting today regarding Rock Island County Arbitration cases. The goal of the meeting was to decide what statistics the county should keep on these cases to help attorneys and arbitrators value cases.
The statistics they kept for the last year were very interesting:

19 – number of cases tried to a jury between June [...]

The Value of Wrongful Death Cases

One of the biggest challenges facing wrongful death attorneys and juries is to put a value on the life that was lost. Medical bills, lost wages, etc is the easy part – there’s a number for that. Things like pain and suffering (not usually recoverable in wrongful death cases), and loss of society or consortium [...]

Settling cases – the Deal or No Deal Way

When you and your client talk about settlement, how do you discuss his/her options? I like to use the show Deal or No Deal as an example on occasion.

(Image via tvguide.com)
 First, for those of you who don’t know how the show works: It starts with 26 briefcases. Inside each case is a different dollar amount, [...]

Colossus – more tips and tricks

A few weeks ago, I posted about Colossus – the insurance company megaprogram to determine the settlement value of cases – and promised that after my return from Atlanta I would write about it at greater length. With no further ado…
1.         What is Colossus?
            Nearly every major insurance company uses Colossus or a similar computer [...]

Colossus – as giant and evil as it sounds

Most injury lawyers need to know and understand Colossus. The settlement value of their cases depends on it.
 
What is Colossus? Colossus is a computer program many major insurance companies use to evaluate injury and accident claims. For the uninitiated, most accident attorneys will eventually write a demand letter to a negligent party’s insurance company [...]