Is a Big Settlement or Verdict Proof of a Good Personal Injury Law Lawyer?

The amount of money recovered in a settlement or verdict does not always indicate a good personal injury law firm. Many people are of the belief the larger the settlement or verdict the better the law firm. There is not a direct correlation.

There are three things which are necessary for a large settlement or verdict. The first are severe injuries, such as quadriplegia, paraplegic, loss of an arm or leg, spinal injuries which prevent someone from walking in a normal manner the rest of their life, brain damage or other life changing injuries. Fortunately, injuries of this nature do not happen frequently in everyday life.

The second thing necessary for a large settlement or verdict is liability with a responsible party. There are many accidents where someone suffers severe injury, such as car crashes or motorcycle crashes, in which the person who suffered injury is the sole cause of the injury. In such a case there’s no opportunity for a large settlement or verdict.

The third thing necessary for a large verdict or settlement is generally referred to as “collectability”. The person found at fault must be covered by a large insurance policy or be very wealthy. There are far too many situations in which someone without insurance coverage or with a very small amount of insurance coverage causes horrible injuries. There is very little which can be done to reimburse the person who suffered the injury for the personal injuries they suffered. There just is not any money to collect.

The lack of collectability is the biggest barrier to actually obtaining a large personal injury settlement or verdict. There are instances in which a law firm will actually obtain a very big verdict but the client they are representing will receive very little or nothing because the person found at fault lacks a large insurance policy.

Even when all of the three things necessary for a large settlement or verdict are present the verdict may not hold. Large verdicts are often the result of a jury being very upset with a person who caused the injury or being very sympathetic to the person who suffered the injury. Many large verdicts are appealed. The attorneys representing the insurance company argue on appeal the evidence wasn’t strong enough to show responsibility or the jury verdict is just too large. In two out of three of all personal injury verdicts appealed the appellate court reduces the amount of the verdict or overturns the verdict completely. Simply because a large verdict is reported in the news does not mean the person who suffered the personal injury will actually recover a large amount of money.

The majority of personal injury cases involve injuries which are relatively common, such as strains, sprains, fractured ribs, broken bones. The majority of these cases possess values less than $50,000. An indication as to the frequency of serious injuries is the amount insurance companies charge for large policies of insurance. In terms of the cost per $1000 of insurance coverage the most expensive insurance is the first $15,000 of automobile liability insurance. The larger the amount of insurance the less it costs per $1000 of coverage. The reason for this is very simple. It is more likely that someone will suffer injury with a value of $15,000 or less than an injury with a value of one million dollars. Insurance companies know this and price the policies accordingly.

When considering the large number of personal injury actions which are brought every year in the United States the number of large verdicts and settlements are relatively few. Many personal injury law firms boast about their large settlements or verdicts. Yet, they were able to obtain these because the three elements necessary for a large personal injury settlement or verdict were present, horrible injuries, someone who is responsible, and a large insurance policy covering the person who was responsible. If the law firm was not lucky enough to have these three elements come together the large settlement or verdict would be impossible.

One of the best demonstrations of a quality personal injury law firm is the fact the law firm remains in practice after a large number of years. Another very good demonstration of a quality personal injury law firm is the number of cases the firm handled in which they recovered settlements for their clients of $50,000 or less. These are the most common cases and is probably the kind of case you possess when you seek a personal injury law firm. Many people are misled by urban legends and rumors on social media which lead them to believe their case possesses a value of hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is generally fantasy. A personal injury case worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is a case which badly changes the person’s life forever.

The number of years a personal injury law firm is in existence and the number of cases they handled on the two best factors to consider when choosing a personal injury law firm. A personal injury law firm which is in existence for a long time obviously successfully handled many cases. If they did not successfully handle their cases they would be out of business. The number of cases a personal injury law firm handled is also a very good indication of its ability. As an all things the more experience someone has the better the person becomes in doing what they do.

David Allen & Associates is a law firm which came into existence over 44 years ago. During the past 44 years David Allen and associates represented tens of thousands of personal injury clients. The firm also collected recoveries for its clients of more than $500,000,000, a half a billion dollars.

The firm possesses immense experience in dealing with personal injury claims. In addition, the firm possesses an asset many law firms lack. David Allen, prior to founding the firm, worked in the insurance industry. He previously supervised a claims unit for a major commercial insurance company. During that period of time, he directly handled and or supervised over 20,000 personal injury cases. With this experience he obtained unique knowledge as to how insurance policies operate and where insurance coverage exists. Most lawyers lack this experience. As a result, many lawyers do not know where collectability exists. As pointed out collectability is one of the three things necessary to obtain a recovery for a personal injury client. With the knowledge David Allen imparted to the law firm of David Allen & Associates the law firm is very well positioned to find insurance coverage and make sure the clients of the firm are reimbursed when they suffer personal injury.