Legal Question in Personal Injury in Florida
mediation
After our familu of 4 re-ended year 2000 we have been told will be going to mediation. The drunk driver was under insured 10k and we sued our insurance 4 under-insured .We have 100k on our under insured.
I an quite noticlbly injured.iritated his injures.My 18 yr old the Lawyer is not even using had a sprain back followed nerve blocks, 3. !0 yr old bit his tung but is greatly mentally damaged. Scared in the car, only feels safe when all family is home. 18 yr old still afraid to drive.the drink femake did a hit and run then hit us going over 60 when we sat at a red lite.
My qq is. I am told by people to only take a cash settlement no less than 500k. Also why not add the boys. thwy did not have a depo.. I , husband only. What is a mediation all about,what to look for and what takes place.What is the smart thing to do. My lawyer never returns calls and is retiring so we can't ask him. Also, can you ask for more than what you have on car insurance for under insured. if we don't want the amount.what next.thankyou for having this free service.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: mediation
You demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the status of your case. The person to answer your questions is your present lawyer who should be familiar with the facts of your case. If he does not return your calls and is "retiring" you should call his office for an appointment to be present with you and your husband. You should ask him about his experience with cases similar to yours and provide information in writing about his trial experience and recommendations. (see Statement of Clients Rights). If you do not get answers you might seek a second opinion advising of your options and those of your children. Whoever told you to ask for $500,000 with only $100,000 insurance coverage is living on another planet. Do you have two or more cars wirh "stacked" uninsured mororist coverage? Has your attorney checked on the D's assets? Was the driver also the owner? Was he on a mission for an employer? Has a claim been made for your children? Is your lawyer retired or still trying cases? Has he evaluated your case for settlement?
Has he prepared a Mediation Statement for your review? Has either side made Offers of Judgemnt which can trigger assessment of attorneys fees? You should know all this before Mediation.
Re: mediation
You are basically stuck with the insurance limits that you have 10,000 from the at fault driver and the UIM . I am not sure of the total amount of UIM limits and your lawyer can help you with that. I assume all injuries have been medically documented and are in accord with the requirements of Florida No-Fault Law.
It looks as though your lawyer has filed suit. So this mediation is a last chance to settle out of court. It is considered an informal settlement conference where the mediator tries to get the sides together and agree on a money figure. Because of this, you should be flexible and understand that there are risks in taking a case to trial and if you settle your case, you will probably be accepting less than you think a jury might award. Your lawyer should go over the risks in detail.
I could not begin to evaluate your case. You should conference with your lawyer and get answers to these questions prior to the mediation. If not DEMAND it. You should not go into a mediation without having a good idea of the range of settlement for your case dollar-wise.-
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