So how is a case really valued? Plaintiff's lawyers would like to think that the carrier or defendant values the case based on jury verdict exposure, while throwing litigation costs into the mix. Judges, mediators and arbitrators value cases based on what have long been considered"ranges of accepted values" in particular venues over a long period of time. In reality a distal fracture, lumbar fusion, torn labrum or whatever the injury , is not truly individually valued , but placed into a range of values .
At "the end of the day", it is , and has always been, the carriers who have set the values. The City of New York tells you what they pay on a meniscal tear, no surgery. The New York City Transit Authority "tells you" what a wrist fracture with external pinning is worth. Allstate, State Farm, Geico and American Transit "tell you " what a herniated disc at L5-S1 is worth with "no work loss". The values then become "accepted settlement values" in the litigation community as plaintiffs continue to accept these artificial values.
So what can be done? Try every single case? Not feasible ? Settle every case at the value your offered; not likely. Continue to try to distinguish each of your cases as not falling into this "carrier established valuation". Once in a while even ask, " where did you come up with this value?
So what is the settlement value of a herniated disc at L5-SI ,3 months out of work worth with slight impingement; $7,500, $25,000, $12,500, $45,000.......I don't know....but tell me who the carrier is or defendant, and I'll give you a pretty accurate range.
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