When you go to court to pursue a settlement in a lawsuit for personal injuries received on the job, in a slip and fall at a store, or from a failed product in a vehicle, or other personal injury case, you should be prepared for what’s ahead of you.
The attorney will tell you that they need you to keep detailed records of what you feel, how your recovery goes. This is important because a person recovering from a personal injury is totally consumed with getting better and healing. A personal injury attorney is there to be sure that a settlement will be given to the victim by ensuring that all the details of the injury and recovery are documented.
The reason this is important is that the victim is going to need money to pay the medical bills after suffering physically in the personal injury. You hear people discussing settlements, but if you’re a victim of a personal injury, you should know what that is.
A settlement is a legal wrap to ending a dispute. It’s an agreement between the injured party and the disputing persons to resolve the damages. Terms in a settlement are agreed in writing. The written agreement is a contract enforced by the court.
If the case goes to court, the usual way that you come to a settlement is through mediation. Mediation is a formal settlement in which all sides in the dispute discuss terms to settle the disputes. A court can force mediation attendance but the court can’t force the disputing parties to settle.
Settlements become complicated because of the need to payoff subrogation liens. These are claims against the settlement by health insurance companies, medicare or medicaid or worker’s compensation companies for money paid for doctor’s bills and for lost wages.
Parties have to be paid out of the settlement. Insurance companies will ask for all 100 percent of all money paid. Most of the time they truly only get a fraction of the money. If the lien is an ERISA, or Medicaid lien, then 100% of the money may have to be paid to the ERISA carrier.
An Orlando personal injury attorney who is experienced can discuss ERISA and Medicaid issues with you so you can understand their claim.
Things then become complicated because in a personal injury case the plaintiff agrees to sign off on a release in exchange for an agreed amount of money that is paid at the closing of the deal. Once a release is signed, the money changes hands, the plaintiff’s claims are then not able to be upheld in court.
If a lawsuit has been filed in a court, the attorneys send a notice to the court stating the case is over and the court will close the file permanently. In the end the terms of a settlement decide who pays legal and court fees.
If you have questions about what a personal injury attorney thinks of your case, consult with Roddy Lanigan to find out immediately what you should do to keep up with your case.
