Connecticut Personal Injury Attorneys

Many clients wonder about the value of their cases. It is a natural curiosity. However, in the early stages of your case, it is usually impossible to know what a reasonable recovery would be. Early guesses as to the possible value of a case are not helpful nor likely to be correct. It is not possible to evaluate a claim until all of the information has been developed, and the various factors have been assessed. Each case is unique. We need all of your medical bills, records and reports, documentation of lost wages, and other damages to evaluate your claim. Small factual differences between cases may make very large differences between verdicts or settlements. Furthermore, even if the identical case, with the identical parties, were presented 10 times to 10 different juries, there would likely be 10 different verdicts. In some cases, the plaintiff may win; and in others, the plaintiff may lose. In those cases in which the plaintiff wins, there would likely be a wide range of monetary awards. Ultimately, we try to assess the chance that you will win your case and the likely range of jury verdicts, if you do win. We are then guided by that in our evaluation of any settlement offers, taking into account any benefit which you might realize from obtaining the money sooner, with less costs of litigation. Whether to accept or reject any settlement offer is ultimately your decision. We will try to give you our advice on the adequacy of any offer, based upon what we think would likely happen at trial, and the amount of time and money that would be spent to prosecute the case through verdict. Our advice to you is based upon our experience in handling these matters. We always try to get you the best offer possible. However, we cannot force a defendant to increase a settlement offer, or to make any offer at all. Ultimately, you may have a choice between accepting the best offer available from the defendant, or having us try your case to a conclusion. Thus, whether your claim ultimately goes to trial, or is settled, may be in your control.

There are substantial delays built into the procedures for bringing claims for damages. Some of this delay may actually be beneficial to claimants. Many claims that might have been resolved for less immediately after the incident become more valuable later after some permanent effect of the injury is noted. The time may allow us to fully appreciate the permanent effects of your injuries and their impact upon your activities. However, many clients understandably feel that the wait for trial in Connecticut is too long. This feeling is not necessarily limited to clients who want a trial. Some clients who would rather settle than try their claims may find that they cannot obtain a suitable settlement offer until the case is near trial. Sometimes, insurers will not offer a realistic settlement until the case is near trial. Most Connecticut judicial districts have delays of several years in bringing claims to trial, after they are filed in Court. We cannot always predict which judicial districts will be the most efficient because that may vary with the presiding judge, the nature of the case, and the amount of court business in the district. In addition to court delays, it is not uncommon for there to be rescheduling of depositions or other preliminary matters associated with your case. These occur for a variety of reasons, such as a lawyer being on trial with another case in another location, a witness or expert being unavailable, etc. It will require a degree of patience on your part to see your case through to a successful conclusion. In many cases, we will make an effort to resolve a claim first, by settlement, without filing suit. Sometimes this works and saves our client considerable expense. Sometimes, it doesn't work; and the case needs to go into suit. Whether we make an initial effort to settle your case before suit will depend on a number of factors, including the time remaining on the limitations period, the nature of your injuries, and the attitude of the defendant's insurance company.

Time limitations apply to most claims, especially those alleging personal injury. For example, in claims against the State of Connecticut or in claims involving municipalities, there are statutes which require very specific and written notice to be provided within a relatively short period of time from the date of the injury or harm. The same is true when making a "Dram Shop" claim against the seller or purveyor of alcoholic beverages. There are statutes of limitations which limit the time when a lawsuit may be brought. If a case is filed beyond the statute of limitations time period, the claim will be considered to be barred. The timeliness of an investigation can also be very important to the ultimate resolution or disposition of a case. For these reasons, among others, we encourage people with potential claims to contact us as soon as possible after an injury or an event in order to discuss your rights.