Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Be Careful about What Friends Tell You

Like most people, I hate to spend money that I don't have to spend. So when I have a problem with my car, I first talk to my friends to see if they have had similar problems. Then I take their well meaning advice and try to determine if I should go to the mechanic. About three months ago, I was driving my wife's car when all of a sudden the fuel gauge went from full to empty less than three miles after I filled it up. First, I thought "hole in the gas tank." I stopped, turned off the car and determined that wasn't the case. Then I restarted the car. Full tank. What gives. Two days later my wife reports the same thing except now the fuel gauge is permanently on empty. So I talk to my buddies. Everything they tell me leads me to conclude that it is going to be a costly repair. Depressed and knowing that, when it comes to car repairs, I am over my head I speak to my mechanic. He tells me this is a common problem with my wife's car and that I can fix it by buying a $7 fuel additive. He was right. I should have asked him in the first place. Lesson learned.

Attorneys that practice in the injury field encounter the same problem with their clients. Many friends and family attempt to advise clients on the value of cases. Their advice can be based on what they feel is fair, what they heard on TV, or what happened to Aunt Bessie. (Aunt Bessie is that fabled person that stubbed her toe and got 72 bijillion gianormous dollars.) Although they are well meaning, they don't understand case valuation. More importantly, because you are their friend or family member, they look at it from a biased perspective. (Nothing wrong with that because they love you.) At the end of the day, in spite of what you read in the newspaper, hear on the radio, or see on TV, juries tend to be conservative in the values they award. In fact, in spite of what you hear about runaway jury verdicts, that is not the case. Asking for the sun, the moon and the stars is not going to get you anywhere. Having an attorney that does this work evaluate your case and present it in such a fashion that you get fair value in the current climate will. The value of your case will be decided on its merit.

Take care,

Rod
Making Injury and Insurance Law Understandable