Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

There really is not enough information to answer your question.

There are so many factors that go into the evaluation of a case that involves the loss of a life. If Farmers is offereing $400K now then there is a strong chance that an attorney can increase the offer.

Consult an attorney, I would be willing to go over some of the issues with you on the phone to explore the numerous questions..

Good luck.

Yes, I think there is a good chance that you can increase the settlement offer from Farmers Insurance. If you are in the Sacramento area, I would be happy to consult with you and help you on this matter.

I definitely think a million dollars in a case involving a drunk driver for two heirs is reasonable and your wife and her sister should make a policy limit demand through the attorney and if not accepted file a complaint with the court and make an official demand in the case for the policy limit. If not accepted then Farmers could be liable for even more than the policy limit. The $400,000 offer for both your wife and her sister is not reasonable if the policy limit is 1 million, the liability is clear and the other driver was DUI. You might want to ask the attorney to reduce the fee if the case settles without having to file with an increase in the percentage if the case has to go to trial. Good luck.

An attorney on a case like yours is very important. The value of the case depends on many factors. How old was your father-in-law? How much money did he earn? Did he provide any support to his children or grandchildren? How was his health? How much time did he spend with his children and grandchildren? How much the case is worth will depend upon these questions and other factors. The value of the case is enhanced by the drunkmdriving of the defendant.

Make sure you have retained an experienced wrongful death attorney to assist you in obtaining the maximum award.

There is another aspect here you have to consider. First, you should definitely retain counsel but how you do so can affect the outcome. For instance, if you assume the attorney will want a 33 1/3% contingency fee, then the offer will have to be $600,000.00 to get your wife and sister-in-law back to the same point they are at now. If I were in your position I would be seeking a a retainer agreement that made sure that any fees were taken from results achieved over and above the current offer. That will probably get me in trouble with my colleagues, but I see no reason to give away part of the settlement that is already being offered.

As to the value, with a drunk driver and a million dollar limit you should definitely seek counsel to try and develop the case further. If you do that with a fee for only money over and above your offer now you have nothing to lose.

Good luck.

We will be interested in accepting this case on a reduced fee basis. Please contact us at (310) 826-6300, ext. 50. We will be seeking the policy limits.

Farmers always low balls settlement offers. We handle these cases all over California. You should call me for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x. 1.

Sorry to hear about the tragedy. Insurance companies consider in their offer many factors including the cost of continuing litigation and the risk of having to pay more at trial. If you think about it, if you have a 50/50 chance of winning at trial, to them, a $1,000,000 policy is worth a 500k settlement offer mathematically. When you choose an attorney, choose one who understands how insurance companies decide numbers. There may be some strategies for you to try to increase your offer. Be careful, because an attorney may risk your $400k offer to try to get more for himself by going to trial, which could turn out a lot of different ways, so it is very important to understand your attorney's strategy and make sure you trust him or her. I have handled insurance companies and personal injury, and am happy to help if you want to contact me.

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

[email protected]

415-450-0424

The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi, APLC

870 Market Street, Suite 1161

San Francisco CA 94102

http://www.danielbakondi.com

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