Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Certainly you want to select a hardworking and zealous personal injury attorney or wrongful death attorneyto represent you in your personal injury or wrongful death case. However, it is equally important that experienced personal injury attorneys be honest with you about settlement options as well. When the adjuster's offers are unreasonable or unfair, then litigation is the best option. However, if the settlement offer is not unreasonable, but is less than the claimant wants, then a delicate balancing act must be performed to make sure the wise decision is made regarding settlement verses litigation. The use of jury verdict research is a great approach when making this important decision. What any personal injury lawyer or wrongful death lawyer dreads most is obtaining a jury verdict that results in the client's net proceeds being lower than the net proceeds from the last settlement offer.

This difficult decision of litigate or settle is further complicated by the fact that Georgia law allows the use of an "offer of judgment". In recent years, Georgia has codified into law an Offer of Judgment statute which can significantly raise the stakes for injured persons desiring to pursue their claims all the way through a jury trial. Georgia’s Offer of Judgment statute (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68) allows a Defendant (e.g. an Insurer on behalf of their insured) to:
At any time more than 30 days after the service of a summons and complaint on a party but not less than 30 days (or 20 days if it is a counteroffer) before trial, …. serve upon the other party … a written offer … to settle a tort claim for the money specified in the offer. Provided such an offer meets the requirements of the statute, the injured person receiving the offer shall be responsible for the attorneys’ fees of the Defendant for all times after the offer was made unless the Plaintiff obtains a final judgment that is at least 75 percent of the offer made by Defendant. This means that if you litigate your case and do not obtain a jury verdict of the required amount under the offer of judgment, then you could end up with a large judgment against you for the cost of the defendant's attorney fees for defending the case. As you can see, it is critical that your personal injury attorney explain the legal landscape in your case so you can take home a nice settlement check rather than going home with a large judgment AGAINST you.

What does this mean? This means for example, if an injured person is offered $10,000.00 to settle his or her injury claim under the procedures of this statute, and the injured person either rejects the offer or fails to accept it within 30 days and goes on to actually win a judgment of less than $7,500.00, the injured person, despite winning at trial, will be forced to pay the attorneys’ fees incurred by the Defendant since the time of the offer. Insurance defense attorneys in personal injury cases make between $150 and $350 per hour. It is not uncommon for a defense attorney’s bill through trial to exceed thirty or forty thousand dollars ($30,000.00 - $40,000.00). Suppose that in this example the injured plaintiff won $7,300.00 from a jury. In this scenario, the injured plaintiff would not go home with a judgment for $7,300.00. Instead, the injured plaintiff would go home with a judgment against him/her in the amount of the defense attorney’s fees less the amount the jury awarded. If the defense attorney’s fees were $30,000.00, the injured Plaintiff would go home with a judgment against him in the amount of $22, 700.00!

This is why at the Griffin Law Firm we take great effort to build a strong case for each client from the very beginning. By amassing all of the medical records and needed documentation very early and using our breadth of experience to both value a case and explain the legal landscape to our clients from the start, we give each client the best opportunity to maximize their settlement opportunities before taking on such incredible risks. While The Griffin Law Firm must sometime use its extensive litigation and trial experience to pursue a fair resolution in court and before juries when a client is not presented with a reasonable settlement opportunity, we believe that all of our clients should be wisely advised on the inherent risks and benefits of their case before litigation becomes necessary.

Recent legal news is full of Georgia Plaintiffs who have pushed aggressively toward trial in the face of reasonable offers under this new law only to leave the courtroom with a large judgment against them. At the Griffin Law Firm attorneys will provide zealous representation that includes the wisdom and experience of lawyers who will properly advise you every step of the way.