CARR & CARR, LLC
JUPITER, FLORIDA

Even though most cases are settled before a lawsuit is filed, some cases go to trial because the insurance company either doesn’t make an acceptable settlement offer or the insurance company claims the incident was your fault. When that occurs, there are several things a person contemplating a lawsuit should be aware of before proceeding. In a car wreck case, that means you have to sue the other driver. In a dog bite case or other event that invokes the other person’s liability insurance, such as homeowner’s insurance, business insurance, boat insurance or ATV insurance, you still have to sue the individual or company that is responsible, not their insurance company. Even though the other party has insurance, you have to sue the individual or company due to the way the law is written. As far as the jury knows, anything they award comes straight out of the defendant’s own pocket. In reality, this is not the case. The verdict is paid by the insurance company and the defendant rarely has to pay anything out of their own pocket. If the defendant does have to pay out of their own pocket, they may have a right to sue their own insurance company to be reimbursed. This occurs if the insurance company unreasonably exposed their insured to having to pay a verdict if the plaintiff was willing to settle for the amount of insurance available. This is one reason why it is important to have an experienced trial lawyer handle your case. Some people unknowingly think it is easy to pursue the case on their own because they believe that all they have to do is sue the other driver’s insurance company and the jury will rule in their favor since they are suing an insurance company. It is not that simple. The jury never knows about insurance. A skilled lawyer can make sure the proper party is sued and the evidence is presented correctly to avoid having the case dismissed by the court. The lawyer representing the defendant is paid by the insurance company. Insurance companies have attorneys available to them to represent the people they insure if a lawsuit is filed. Some insurance companies have their own staff attorneys and others hire outside law firms to represent their insured. Either way, the person you are suing is going to be provided an attorney by the insurance company. The jury won’t know this fact either. As far as the jury knows, the person you are suing went out and found their lawyer and is paying them by the hour to represent them. This can often result in the jury feeling sympathetic to the defendant and thereby reducing the amount of money they award since they believe the defendant has already paid a lot in attorney’s fees. Again, with proper representation by a skilled trial lawyer, the likelihood of this occurring can be substantially reduced. One common tactic that attorneys representing the other party employ is to try and make it look like your attorney and your doctor are working together. They will do this by making it known to the jury that you were referred to your doctor by the attorney, a common occurrence. Lawyers often have to refer their clients to a doctor because many doctors will not see patients that were involved in some type of accident. Many doctors will refuse to treat people involved in the legal system because they do not want to testify about the care they provided to the plaintiff. For instance, in a car wreck, the other driver’s insurance company will not pay the doctor that treats you until after the case is settled, which can be years after the treatment is provided. Most doctors aren’t willing to wait that long. As a result, lawyers have to find doctors who are willing to place your well-being above their own immediate, financial interests. If your case involves a car wreck and there wasn’t very much damage to your car, the other lawyer will remind the jury of this every chance they get. They will argue that it was just a “bump” or “tap” and that you couldn’t have been hurt. In reality, studies have shown time and again that the amount of damage to a vehicle is not an accurate predictor of whether someone in the car was hurt or not. However, unless your lawyer is highly skilled in this area, many times it is difficult for the jury to understand this concept because the law requires that evidence of this type be provided by an engineer’s testimony. The insurance company’s lawyer will hire a doctor to examine you. The doctor has normally worked with the other lawyer numerous times over the years. The doctor usually disagrees with your doctor about the cause or extent of your injuries. Many of these doctors make millions of dollars testifying for insurance companies and their attorneys. As you can see, your lawyer can help you avoid many pitfalls that could occur in a trial. Carr & Carr Attorneys can help you avoid these types of pitfalls at trial so that you can have a jury render a fair verdict. By no means is this a guarantee of success. Neither our firm nor any other lawyer can guarantee you any type of result. However, we can tell you that with proper representation, your odds of succeeding at trial are definitely improved. For 21 years I helped with the local firework show. That year the firework show didn't go as planned... He was severely injured, he spent two months in the hospital and over a year rehabilitating. When a serious injury affects your family you need someone who will fight for you. Call Carr and Carr today. Carr and Carr just made it so comfortable. They really treated like part of the family. Defective Product The information found on this website has been prepared for information purposes only; the information should not be construed as legal advice nor does the information imply any guarantee as to the results of future litigation. You should not act or rely upon this information without seeking formal professional counsel specific about your case. Carr & Carr Attorneys' offer to provide a free case evaluation is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship between Carr & Carr Attorneys and you.