After a car accident in 2015, our client injured her left arm, requiring a course of treatment that included four surgeries. The other driver had a million dollars’ worth of coverage; you’d think the company would’ve compensated our client for the injuries she suffered as a result of the negligence of the other driver. Unfortunately, the insurance company requested numerous depositions, dragged the case on for years, and attempted to settle her case for $25,000, before eventually offering $100,000 for her claim prior to trial. After discussing the offer with the client, we decided to take her case to a jury trial — which comes with risks — but it paid off, as the jury awarded our client $650,000, and the insurance company is now obligated to pay our client that amount plus interest. But why are jury trials risky? Here’s what a client should consider before taking their case to a jury trial. What are the risks? Let’s say the insurance offer isn’t high enough and you are considering taking the case all the way to a jury trial. One of the biggest concerns is added costs, including the likelihood that you will have to pay experts (such as doctors or engineers) to help prove to the jury the nature of your injuries or the negligence involved in your accident. If a jury ends up awarding the same amount as the insurance offer, or less, the take- home share (post-trial) could be significantly less than what it would have been pretrial due to the added costs of trial. Another consideration when planning to hold out for a jury trial is that it takes an extraordinary amount of time to get to a jury trial. Even prior to COVID-19, courts had extended trial waiting lists that often lasted years. Additionally, a jury trial can be an extremely stressful experience for a client. You are put on a stand in front of a room full of people, who are judging your appearance, along with your every word and look. In addition to the anxiety of being put through a trial to prove that you were hurt, you have the uncertainty of not knowing the jury’s exact award until it is announced post trial. When is it worth it? Most cases happily end up settling; however, a handful of cases will always benefit from going to trial. If an insurance company denies responsibility or makes an offer that is too low to compensate for the injuries suffered by a client, there can often be a significant upside to going through the rigors of trial to seek out an award that is larger than the pretrial settlement offer. If you have any questions about your case and whether it is worth taking to trial, don’t hesitate to give us a call. Our legal team is always looking forward to helping you find the right answers and the best path forward. Risks vs. Rewards of Taking Your Case to a Jury Trial HOW A $100K CASE TURNED INTO A $650K CASE
5 Low-Tech Tips for Lighting Your Jack-o’-Lanterns
Halloween is almost here, and you know what that means: home-carved jack-o’-lanterns! Turning pumpkins into decor is an ancient tradition, but as any experienced carver knows, using real candles inside them can be frustrating. Unstable candles, and accidental burns are just a couple of the issues that often crop up. To avoid them this Halloween, try these five tips. 1. Choose your candle wisely. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, it’s best to choose a candle that is at least an inch shorter than the hollow space inside of your pumpkin. To achieve this, you can buy long candles and trim them to size or learn to make your own from the book “Beeswax Alchemy” by Petra Ahnert. 2. Create built-in stability. There’s nothing less festive than a jack- o’-lantern going dark because its candle has tipped over. To prevent that, carve a depression into the floor of the pumpkin that’s the same shape and size as the base of your candle. Then, drop the candle in! This simple trick will hold it in place. 3. Go bottomless. Another option that will solve the toppling candle problem is hollowing out your pumpkin from the bottom instead of cutting a lid out of the top. If you do that, you can set up and light your candle first, then place the jack-o’-lantern over it. As long as your pumpkin is on a hard, level surface, your candle should be stable. 4. Light up at the right moment. The easiest way to prevent burns is to light your candle at the right time and with the right method. If you like to hollow your pumpkins out from the bottom, light your candle first then place the pumpkin over it to prevent burns. If you hollow your pumpkins from the top, remove the “lid,” place the unlit candle inside, then light it with a long lighter or fireplace match. 5. Don’t forget the chimney hole. To prevent heat and smoke from building up inside of your pumpkin and cooking it slowly, light up your candle and peek inside to see which spot on the top is warming up the fastest. Then, cut out a notch or “chimney hole” in that spot to let the heat escape.
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