Clients worry about their claims in litigation. They want the best result with the minimum of inconvenience and hassle. Many clients fear litigation as confrontational and burdensome. While most litigation has some time commitment on the part of the client, most claims can be handled conveniently and almost fully by an experienced motorcycle lawyer.

A competent motorcycle attorney will address client problems sooner rather than later. All efforts to reduce or eliminate unnecessary stress on the client should be taken. A significant portion of litigation is procedural and does not involve the client. The three areas where the client will be working closely with the lawyer are the preparation of responses to discovery, the deposition of the client and settlement decisions. This summary will address the procedural events in a typical Motorcycle Accident case and give some common sense advice for the typical case.

Settlement Negotiations Do Not Stop When Starting Litigation

The truth, that most lawyers will not tell you, is that most cases settle before trial, either because the costs or risks of trial are too high, or the parties have learned something about their side of the case that makes the settlement more attractive. Litigation may be started for several reasons, none of them related to the merit of the case. The case may have to be filed because of the Statute of Limitations. The client injuries may not be easily evaluated. The other side may need to evaluate the case in litigation to learn, under penalty of perjury, about the claims. Witnesses may not provide testimony unless ordered to appear in a subpoena. The point is that simply because litigation commences does not mean that the settlement of the case stops. Discussions, where proper, will continue. For a summary of the claims related to a motorcycle case, see our article: Main Points of Contention in Motorcycle Accident Cases. Your attorney must be your trusted ally. You should immediately set up an appointment with us if you do not trust your attorney. You can always change attorneys without any cost to you. Call us at 1 888-752-7474 or Contact Us Online to discuss your legal options.

While we cannot guarantee a favorable outcome, we have had success in evaluating cases in the past. Successful motorcycle claims have two common denominators, that the Plaintiff's version of the accident is believable, and the claim of injury makes sense. These two factors are a winning combination for claims to be successful. If either is missing, the claim still may still be settled, but for less value. The full value potential of a case is reached when these two magical factors are present in a motorcycle accident case. Therefore our job as your attorney will be to spend a lot of effort convincing the other side of your the believability and likeability.

What Does the Defense Do

The defense will first want to verify your version of the accident with other witnesses and will want to collect the exact amount of medical bills incurred by you. These documents may have already been given to the insurance company, but since when does an insurance company believe you or us. They will want to verify the accuracy of the bills and records by subpoena directly from the medical provider. The defense will want to determine if any wage loss claim is provable and reasonable in comparison with the injuries you received. Lastly, the medical evidence and testimony will be evaluated to determine if the injury and medical treatment were caused by the accident and reasonably treated. The insurance company will then make the offers that will either settle the case or continue negotiations.

What Will Your Attorneys Do During Litigation

We will learn about the other party's case. We will verify that the witnesses are favorable to our version of the accident and make sure that any bias is uncovered? See Witness Bias. We will verify the insurance company's position on medical treatment and the bills. Does the insurance company expert doctor disagree with the treatment for your injury and why? Each of the points raised by the insurance company will be addressed and additional evidence is collected to support our case.

Almost all of the work just outlined does not involve the client. Experts are hired to evaluate the medical bills and treatment. Your doctors will testify as to why they treated you and for what injuries. Your attorney will investigate any claims of the other side. These tasks do not require client input unless questions arise that must be answered, such as a prior medical history of significance or when uncovering a witness version of the accident that conflicts with the client's version. See Interviewing an Motorcycle Accident Witness as a primer on witnesses and their observations. Can a client help?

Here are the Areas Where a Client Will Be of Tremendous Help

Interrogatories: Interrogatories are a method of verifying all of your bills, claims of injury and damages under verification of accuracy. Therefore it is crucial that you provide all the information to your attorney that will be needed in response to the specific questions asked. It is better to be overly accurate than not accurate. Some clients do not like to answer the questions and therefore give only only partial answers to the questions. This undermines the case and also the ability to get the case settled. Therefore it is important for you, the client, to attempt to answer these questions truthfully and fully.

DEPOSITION: A deposition gives the defendant the opportunity to evaluate your claims, your personality and whether you will be effective at trial. It is important to make a good impression at deposition. Therefore, do not appear angry or distracted. Make the attorney for the other side respect you, but also like you. It is always harder for an attorney to advocate against someone that he likes.

OFFERS: Offers are only a tool. They do not carry any meaning when made as to how the insurance company feels about you. The insurance company wants to settle the case as cheaply as possible for business reasons. They do not care about you personally, so you should not attach and emotions to your responses. Treat offers as if you are negotiating a business deal. Look at it from the insurance company advantage and you will then see the real intent of the offer, without your emotions interfering with your judgment. Always communicate your opinion of any offers to your attorney, but remember he or she is on your side, and is not the enemy. By law all offers, even if they seem silly, must be given to the client.

If you are unhappy with your attorney, we would be happy to evaluate your case for free, and without even disturbing your other attorney, unless you want to make a change. Call us at 1 888-752-7474 or Contact Us Online. Most importantly, do not delay. As the case nears trial, changing attorneys becomes more difficult.