You have an attorney for your aircraft accident / burn injury case; Now what?

Non-Litigation Process
1. Many cases such as aircraft accident cases where the plaintiff is accidentally burned are resolved without filing suit. Your California personal accident attorney will determine at the beginning of the case if he should pursue a settlement without filing suit, or file suit immediately. He may choose to wait until you are through treating and attempt to settle the case without resorting to a lawsuit. This has the advantage of a relatively quick resolution of your claim without troubling you with the lengthy litigation process. Even when avoiding the litigation process, in some, but not all cases, it may take a longer than usual period of time to settle a claim. It is dangerous to settle a claim too soon; in some instances it often takes a considerable period of time for serious injuries to heal or even become evident (particularly in injuries to the back and neck). Moreover, since the amount of your settlement and/or judgment is based upon the seriousness of your injuries, and the residual effect they may have on your standard of life in the future, your case should not be settled until permanent disability, if any, resulting from your injury is known.

2. Following the non-litigation process, when your burn injuries have either resolved, or become permanent and stationary, your burn injury attorney will commence settlement negotiations with either the Defendant(s) and/or the insurance companies involved. Any offers of settlement must be communicated to you for your consideration.

Insurance Company Tactics: To Litigate or not Litigate
Prior to 1989 if the Defendant's insurance company "jerked you around" by deliberately making ridiculous offers or denying liability when it was patently clear, you had what was called a "Third-Party Bad Faith" lawsuit against the company, subjecting them to the potential of punitive damages. This remedy was no longer available in California in 1988. Since that time insurance companies such as Allstate, Mercury, and more recently Farmers, have waged an all-out war on injured parties and their attorneys. Their policy has been simple: force the case to trial to discourage not only the filing of such claims, but preclude attorneys and injured parties from prosecuting them based upon financial concerns. Because of the perceived economic disadvantages of handling such cases, some trial lawyers are routinely urging their client to accept a low settlement figure. They must pick and choose which of these cases to take to trial. Insurance companies have billions of dollars in assets. The personal injury attorney advances the costs, but the client ultimately pays litigation costs out of his recovery.

Your California personal accident attorney should advise you of a verdict range and an estimate of costs to be advanced (filing fees, expert witnesses, deposition costs, etc.) These costs should be subtracted from the mid-verdict range and litigation costs, personal injury attorney fees and medical liens subtracted there from. If your bottom line net in settlement is close to what you would settle the case for if the case were to go to trial, settling the case might be a wise choice

The Litigation Process
Your burn injury attorney may determine your case is not a candidate for settlement without filing a lawsuit. Such an election is made because he judges it not the kind of case lending itself to a good early settlement and the only way to obtain satisfactory recovery is by filing suit immediately. For instance, an aircraft accident case may involve many defendants and the cause may not be fully known requiring the naming of many defendants. The case is settled deep in the litigation process or, alternatively, will go to trial.

What now follows is a discussion of the litigation process, from filing the lawsuit through to jury verdict. At any time along the way, your case could settle.

Or you might get a full ride through the American System of Justice!