Several states, including a very litigious state, Florida, have a whole system in place to try to resolve cases pre-suit. Demand letters to carriers, waiting periods and even mediations are held pre-suit in an effort to try "to move cases " in the claim stage. Is it working? My gut says it is. I can tell you one thing; more cases are being settled in Florida pre-suit than in New York.
Let me give you a little historical overview. When I graduated from law school in 1984(admitted in N.Y. in 1985) "everything " was being negotiated and settled in claim. Basically if you didn't like the offer you filed suit. There was actually an unwritten rule that you would try to settle with the claims-person before filing suit. The carrier's rep. would actually get pissed off at you if you didn't call first before filing. I can remember dozens of conversations where I was told" mark the case settled at $7500 and send me meds with the release".
I believe a multitude of factors have eroded this once great process which include:
1. Adjusters no longer having individual authority like the "old days";
2. Defense counsel have become an impediment to settling so they can bill, bill an bill some more;
3. Renegade caarriers like Allstate have" buttoned down the hatches ";
4. Carriers starting requesting pre-suit mri reviews and IME's;
5. Medical malpractice consent clauses have prohibited settlement;
6. The City of New York and the NYCTA used to settle much more frequently and of course
7. Every mva case without a confirmed fracture is a "fight to the death" on threshhold.
So what is the moral of the story here; bring back mandated pre-suit settlement procedures on cases with values under $100,000. Plaintiff's counsel will be happy, clients will be happy, the Courts will be happy, the carriers will be happy...and oh yeah, Defense Counsel will unfortunately be miserable.
No comments:
Post a Comment