Answer: When I started practicing law and working on personal injury cases in 1987, I filed suit only about half of the time because the insurance claim representative and I could usually negotiate a fair settlement. Now days, I file suit about 90% of the time. Why is that? Because insurance companies offer low ball settlement offers hoping that they will be accepted. They do this because there are plenty of attorneys who will take a quick settlement even if the case is worth more if it is properly litigated. Why do these attorneys take bad settlements?
My belief is that lawyers who advertise on TV have driven down the settlement value of cases. How does that happen? While there are some very good attorneys who advertise on TV, I believe that many of them are more interested in generating a positive cash flow so they keep their advertising paid for. These attorneys have turned the practice of law into a “lawsuit mill” where they settle cases as soon as they can for any amount that they can just to maintain a positive cash flow. To my way of thinking, that type of wholesale law practice has driven down the reasonable settlement value of all cases.
My practice is built on taking one case at a time, carefully preparing it, only accepting reasonable settlement offers and filing suit every time to make sure that my clients are fairly compensated for their accidents.