In our cases involving obvious and clearcut medical malpractice, our clients often think the malpractice insurance carrier will want to settle the case in the early stage of the lawsuit, or even before the lawsuit is filed. WRONG! Even in the gross malpractice cases, the insurance carrier will never settle early in the lawsuit and in fact, the carrier will almost always wait until the very last moment to make a settlement offer. The first settlement offer may come a day before trial, during the trial or even moments before the jury renders its verdict. Why? The question is simple: in New York, the defendant (physician or hospital) pays no interest on a Judgment until the Judgment is rendered by the court with the exception of lawsuits based on wrongful death. This means that the malpractice insurance carrier has every incentive to delay paying a dime until it has no other way to postpone the outcome. If, for example, the victim of the malpractice sustained injuries in February, 2008, the insurance carrier will not pay interest on a Judgment rendered against its insured physicians until the Judgment is rendered by the court, which may be years later. If the insurance carrier can delay paying an injured victim until April, 2010, it has avoided paying the money for more than two years and postponing the payment improves its profit. The insurance carriers want to hold onto their money until they have no other choice and a jury forces them to part with it. For this reason, malpractice insurance carriers almost never make settlement offers early in a lawsuit and seldom make an offer until the day of trial or later. If you expect a quick settlement based on gross negligence of a physician, think again.
Protecting Patient Rights - Sign Up Here For My E-Mail Newsletter

What is the straight truth about settlement offers?

 

A: In our cases involving obvious and clearcut medical malpractice, our clients often think the malpractice insurance carrier will want to settle the case in the early stage of the lawsuit, or even before the lawsuit is filed. WRONG!

Even in the gross malpractice cases, the insurance carrier will never settle early in the lawsuit and in fact, the carrier will almost always wait until the very last moment to make a settlement offer. The first settlement offer may come a day before trial, during the trial or even moments before the jury renders its verdict.

Why? The question is simple: in New York, the defendant (physician or hospital) pays no interest on a Judgment until the Judgment is rendered by the court with the exception of lawsuits based on wrongful death.  This means that the malpractice insurance carrier has every incentive to delay paying a dime until it has no other way to postpone the outcome. If, for example, the victim of the malpractice sustained injuries in February, 2008, the insurance carrier will not pay interest on a Judgment rendered against its insured physicians until the Judgment is rendered by the court, which may be years later.  If the insurance carrier can delay paying an injured victim until April, 2010, it has avoided paying the money for more than two years and postponing the payment improves its profit.

The insurance carriers want to hold onto their money until they have no other choice and a jury forces them to part with it. For this reason, malpractice insurance carriers almost never make settlement offers early in a lawsuit and seldom make an offer until the day of trial or later.  If you expect a quick settlement based on gross negligence of a physician, think again.


Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List iconSign up for our Email Newsletter
For Email Marketingyou can trust

Free Book

The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims

ONE BIG PROMISE

You will not be another of the 98,000 victims of medical malpractice in the United States in 2009 if you read my FREE BOOK. I have a book that will tell you why most victims of medical malpractice never recover a penny. If you are the victim of medical malpractice, we will rush this free, valuable information so you know what to do. If you don't call now, you have only yourself to blame.
 You will never have to worry about medical malpractice again if you call this toll-free number, 866-889-6882, for your free book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, and an audio CD of the book, or you can request the book here and the book will be rushed to you immediately at no cost.

Connect With Us

Are we friends on Twitter and Facebook yet? I regularly post tips and advice about medical malpractice that I know you’ll enjoy. Click the links and let’s connect!

Become a fan of Protecting Patient Rights on Facebook



Promote Your Page Too



follow JFisherAttorney at
http://twitter.com

Free Case Evaluation

Begin your case review by filling out the form below or call us at 866.689.9692

Name *

Phone *

Email *

Tell us more *


John H. Fisher
130 North Front Street
Kingston, New York 12402-3058
Phone: 518.265.9131
Fax: 845-331-2004
Toll Free: 866.889.6882
Get Directions

Contact Info

John H. Fisher
130 North Front Street
Kingston, New York 12402-3058
Phone: 518.265.9131
Fax: 845-331-2004
Toll Free: 866.889.6882

Video Library

General:

view all

FAQ

General

view all

©2012 John H. Fisher, All Rights Reserved, Reproduced with Permission Privacy Policy
Attorney web design by Foster Web Marketing, the best attorney website design solution on the Web offering search engine optimization for attorneys, lawyer website design, video for attorneys, and more.
Get SEO Tips from The Attorney Internet Marketing Blog