Time is of the essence in catastrophic injury cases
Insurance executives and corporate risk managers know that family caregivers, caring for catastrophically injured loved ones, eventually will be ground down to exhaustion. And they know a wrongful death claim has far less value and jury appeal than a catastrophic injury claim, so if they can delay long enough they may save millions.
Therefore, in representing spinal cord and brain injury victims in claims for their catastrophic injuries, we have learned that the defense will generally follow a strategy of purposeful delay, knowing that the longer a quadriplegic goes without the full array of support services and equipment, the more likely he or she is to die before trial.
The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to the multijurisdictional practice and pro hac vice rules in each state. Ken Shigley was designated as a "SuperLawyer" in Atlanta Magazine and one of the "Legal Elite" in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and former chair of the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck wrecks and accidents (tractor trailers truck wrecks, semi truck wrecks,18 wheeler truck wrecks, big rig truck wrecks, log truck wrecks, dump truck wrecks).
Although it's small consolation for the victim or their family members who are forced to endure such unprofessional behavior by opposing counsel, their attorney's fees (plus) can be reimbursed by the other side if they persist in dragging things out.
See e.g., G.C.A. § 9-15-14 ; Vacca v. Meetze, 499 F. Supp. 1089 (D.C. Ga. 1980) (under Georgia law, attorney fees may be recovered when it is shown that defendant was stubbornly litigious, put plaintiff to unnecessary trouble and expense, or acted in bad faith, and plaintiff need only establish existence of one of these conditions to recover attorney fees; ); Chapman v. Hepburn, 383 S.E.2d 352 (Ga. App.1989) (tort-feasor's stubbornly litigious behavior justified award of attorney fees, in action to recover for vehicle damages caused by collision, even though victim received less in damages than she sought; tort-feasor steadfastly denied liability until trial, and then made no effort to contest anything other than amount of damages); also, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1927 (imposes monetary sanctions against any attorney who "unreasonably and vexatiously" protracts litigation).
Unfortunately, this type of obstructive behavior by defendants is not limited to third-party plaintiffs; they readily use such tactical advantages against those whom they've contracted to protect, as was recently reemphasized by the Utah Supreme Court:
"An insured who has suffered a loss and is pressed financially is at a marked disadvantage when bargaining with an insurer over payment for that loss. Failure to accept a proffered settlement, although less than fair, can lead to catastrophic consequences for an insured who, as a direct consequence of the loss, may be peculiarly vulnerable, both economically and emotionally. The temptation for an insurer to delay settlement while pressures build on the insured is great, especially if the insurer's exposure cannot exceed the policy limits."
Christiansen v. Farmers Ins. Exchange, 2005 WL 791117, at **12 (Utah April 8, 2005).
