Personal injury cases sometimes reach an impasse. The plaintiff’s attorney knows what their client’s case is worth, but the insurance company’s defense team strongly disagrees. When each side’s numbers are too far apart for a reasonable compromise, a lawsuit can drag on for years before finally reaching a trial date in the courthouse. HOW EXPERT CALCULATIONS HELP WIN CASES It All Adds Up
Are You Emotionally Prepared for Your Kids to Leave?
As part of our trial preparation process,
3 Stages of Empty Nest Syndrome
Friedman & Simon often hires outside experts to calculate the total cost of our client’s injuries over a long-time horizon. An injured person may need special equipment, prescription medications, or ongoing procedures for years or even for the rest of their life. In order to build the most
Being a parent and following the intense schedule that comes with childrearing becomes your lifestyle, one you have adhered to for over a decade. Eventually, though, your children will grow up, move out, and possibly have their own kids. But getting accustomed to this immense change can be difficult and cause you to feel plunging sadness and grief at what feels like the loss of your identity. This is called “empty nest syndrome,” and you’ll be happy to know you won’t feel this way forever. You’ll likely experience three distinct phases, and we’re here to help you go through them! STAGE 1: DESPAIR Your children leaving home is a huge life change, and even the tiniest things can trigger a bout of crying. When you pass their old bedroom or find one of their belongings left behind, the tears might flow, and that’s okay! It’s only natural to feel lonely and as if you’ve suddenly lost your purpose. While you may want to withdraw from the world and wallow, now is the time to reconnect with friends and loved ones to remind you there’s more happiness in your life to be experienced. STAGE 2: RELIEF After a few months, the despair should dissipate, and you’ll feel a sense of relief. You’ll begin to enjoy not worrying about the various tasks and responsibilities once expected of you. No more preparing lunches, doing their laundry, or cleaning up after them! With all this free time now available, you can dive into past or new hobbies and discover your interests. STAGE 3: CONTENTMENT Finally, you can feel happy with your new circumstances. After experiencing the first two erratic stages of empty nest syndrome, you should settle comfortably into your new lifestyle. Regular yoga classes, summertime cruises, book clubs or whatever other activities you truly enjoy are now the new norm. You can finally sit back, relax, and know you’ve successfully raised your children to become independent adults.
compelling case to support the claim for our client’s damages, we need to precisely calculate the extended or, if indicated, lifetime cost of these treatments based on the person’s age and their statistical life expectancy. There are also lost earnings to consider. Those who can’t maintain previous employment will also see long-term consequences for their income and standard of living. An expert can calculate how much the client likely would have made before retirement to present to a jury. While these numbers are essential to presenting the strongest possible case in court, we’ve also found them to be an excellent negotiation tool with the at-fault insurance carrier and defense counsel. Once they see the complete itemized list of expenses and how compelling they’ll be to a jury, they’re more likely to come back to the table with a reasonable offer. Our office has been able to win excellent case settlements using this approach, with great benefit to our client. More specifically, a pre-trial settlement provides the client with a speedier case conclusion and certainty of outcome. Waiting for a trial and the trial itself can take a significant amount of time. Also, no one can ever say with absolute certainty what the outcome of a trial will be. A favorable settlement addresses both of these concerns. When a case settles for an appropriate amount, it’s over just as soon as the closing documents are signed and the injured person knows exactly how much they will recover. To protect their client’s interests, a personal injury attorney must turn over every stone and use every possible tactic to create a favorable outcome. Anything less does the client a disservice. Using expert estimates is just one of many tools that help us secure the compensation our clients deserve.
2
FriedmanSimon.com
Published by Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator