The stakes involved in the defense of a personal injury case can be high. A poorly handled case can be expensive, and it can be harmful to your business’s reputation, which could affect your client relationships moving forward. So, what’s the best way to approach your defense?
It depends on the circumstances of the case at hand. As you probably know, the vast majority of these cases end up resolved without trial, which means that you may escape the maximum liability possible if you settle your case. So, should you settle the case that your insurance company is handling? To better answer that question, you may want to ask yourself the following questions:
- What’s the true value of the claim? You can start by analyzing the monetary value of the claim that has been filed against you. Take a holistic view and be realistic in calculating the alleged victim’s losses. Take into consideration both economic and noneconomic damages. Once you know this figure, you’ll know the maximum payout that you may face if you take your case to trial and lose.
- What’s the evidence against your position? You’ll also want to carefully look at the evidence that’s likely to be presented against you. This isn’t always easy to determine, which is why you’ll want to engage in thorough discovery. By doing so, you can learn what the other side knows and the evidence that it intends to present at trial. Once you’ve conducted discovery, you can focus your defense strategy on countering the plaintiff’s arguments. This may include presenting arguments related to contributory negligence.
- What evidence do you have at your disposal? Once you know what the other side intends to present, then you can take a look at the evidence that you have to support your position. But you’ll want to look at that evidence with a critical eye. Are there evidentiary objections that could be made, putting the admissibility of your evidence at risk? Are there issues with the credibility or reliability of your evidence that could leave your case more weakened than you expected? The answers to these questions could be critical to the development of your defense strategy.
- How much risk are you willing to take? Although there’s a chance that you could win your case at trial, litigation always comes with risk. Therefore, you’ll want to conduct a risk analysis to figure out your best course of action.
- How sharp are the legal skills on your side? Even if you think that it’d be best to take your case to trial, that might not be in your best interests if the legal skills on your side are less than ideal. On the other hand, if your legal team is full of strong negotiators, then you may be able to reach a favorable resolution at the settlement table. So, think through where your strengths lie in light of how you want to handle your case.
Don’t leave your case to chance
Far too many insurance companies try to cut their losses when it comes to dealing with litigation. But you can save yourself a lot of money by taking an aggressive legal approach to every dispute that you face.
You have a lot of representation options out there when it comes to defending your interests in these matters, which is why it’s critical that you carefully analyze your representation options. Only then can you choose the legal team that is right for you and will give you the zealous advocacy that you need on your side.