Cases Best Handled by an Attorney

Cases Best Handled by an Attorney

Liability Disputes

If the third party insurance adjuster does not readily admit DEFINE>liability, that does not necessarily mean you must use an attorney unless the liability is seriously contested. In most cases, the adjuster does not admit liability/DEFINE and will make statements that tend to blame the claimant (that would be you).

Such statements are an attempt to lower the amount of the final settlement by citing ways in which you could have been negligent, or ways in which you could have avoided the accident. By casting doubt on the issue of liability of his insured, the adjuster is trying to make you assume some of the responsibility for the accident. One common tactic is to attempt to convince you that, if you had been paying attention, there was a reasonable chance you could have avoided the accident. If that is true, it may be possible to negotiate an agreement where you assume 10 percent to 15 percent of the fault, thereby decreasing your award by that percentage.

You could possibly negotiate such a claim on your own or with the advice of one of the attorneys available for consultation

through SettlementCentral.Com's directory of attorneys

(Coming Soon!).

On the other hand, if the adjuster is taking a hard line on liability and seems unlikely to accept a compromise of only a few percentage points, you are better off retaining an attorney. The attorneys available for consultation

and/or to take over your case and represent you

through SettlementCentral.Com's directory of attorneys

(Coming Soon!) have agreed to discount their fees for our members if they take your case.

Generally, a serious liability dispute is tied to some kind of legal dispute. Better to have a legal professional working with or for you. When you are involved in a full-blown disagreement on liability, recall the words of one of the country's finest attorneys, Abraham Lincoln: "He who represents himself has a fool for a client."

Are you a fool to represent yourself in a liability dispute? Probably, if the dispute is serious or if it involves core issues that cannot be resolved by a letter or memo to you from your consulting attorney that you pass along to the adjuster. Follow your consulting attorney's advice on whether such a letter or memo - including a statement of the facts and a legal analysis - is an appropriate way to handle the dispute. If so, you may be able to complete the case without a representing attorney.

However, if your consulting attorney advises that you be represented, remember Abe Lincoln's words and retain an attorney as soon as possible to represent you in this dispute.

Continue to:

Professional Malpractice Cases
Product Liability Cases
Workers' Compensation or Industrial Insurance Cases
Disaster Cases - Airplane, Train, etc.
Serious Damages at Stake or Complex Cases

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