There are advertisements for personal injury firms everywhere these days. But how does an injury victim know that they are dealing with a settlement mill? Below we’ll discuss some of the ways to know how to spot a settlement mill law firm.
Florida personal injury attorneys work a contingency fee. This means that personal injury attorneys only get paid if there is a settlement. The amount the attorney is paid is typically a percentage of the total settlement amount.
The difference between a high-quality personal injury lawyer and settlement mill lawyer, however, is that a settlement mill lawyer handles a large number of cases and attempts to settle them as quickly as possible. They do this because their “size matters” law firm has a constant flow of new cases coming in. There is no need for them to offer high quality representation.
Settlement Mills don’t give Personal Service
Hiring an attorney is an important decision. The person you hire should be willing and able to sit down and speak with you about your case. Often, many settlement mills will never let you speak to a lawyer. Instead, settlement mill clients will be passed off onto overworked case managers and paralegals.
Case managers and paralegals are the backbone of the practice of law. But often, they do not have the training to give the type of legal advice a personal injury client needs. That is why every client of Knapp Accident & Injury Law gets my cell phone number. There will never be a time where a client of ours that wants to speak to their attorney is ignored or pushed off onto a staff member.
Settlement Mill are Big
There is nothing wrong with a large law firm. Often, the ability to handle a high volume cases can be a good indicator of a past history of success for personal injury attorneys. However, when a law firm touts its size as one of the main reasons to choose it you should be concerned.
Large law firms have large monthly expenses. This creates a large profit motive. This motive requires large amounts of money to pay for the firm’s expenses and employees.
These firms need lots of cash flow on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. This creates an incentive for the law firm to settle your case quickly. Not only do they settle quickly for fast payment, but to make room for the next batch of cases coming in.
Settlement Mill Love Quick, Low Effort Settlements
Some car accident cases will settle quickly simply due to there being only a small amount of coverage. While in other cases may settle quickly because the injury victim heals quickly. But many settlement mills will begin pushing their clients to accept an early settlement offer from the insurance company even from their very first meeting.
Remember, a personal injury case can settle quickly for a fair amount. An experienced attorney that diligently pursues a case can settle a personal injury case in a matter of months. However, if a firm settles all of your cases quickly, there is no way that they are getting all of their clients fair value for their injury claims.
Insurance companies are in the business of making profits. That means insurance companies are looking to settle your claim for as little as possible. Therefore, insurance companies love settlement mill attorneys. They know those attorneys are highly unlikely to take a case to trial or really make them pay.
Hire Knapp Accident & Injury Law
Besides my family, my clients are the most important people in my world. From the moment we begin our free consultation until the time that their case settles, my client’s know that I will fight for every available dollar and benefit I can get them. Call (813) 568-3724 for a free consultation today.
