By Omid Rejali, Esq.
More and more I see and hear about settlement mill type law firms being introduced in our community. Although, not all firms are the same, it is extremely important to do your own due diligence prior to hiring a San Diego Personal Injury Firm. I would be happy to talk to you for free if you are considering hiring a personal injury firm in San Diego and want to know their reputation. First, let me begin by briefly explaining what a settlement mill firm is.
San Diego Settlement Mill Personal Injury Law Firms
These are firms that you typically see advertising extensively. Although, I will have to say not all firms that heavily advertise are considered a mill, there is one particular characteristic that most of them have in common-they look at you as an object, a means to obtain their own goals, which is to pocket as much money as possible based on your injury. Let me explain. There is absolutely no problem with making money. We are as personal injury law firms and attorneys ultimately businesses that operate to make a living.
However, what sets these mills apart is, they don’t look at you and your case and injuries as human beings. They will look at you as an object. Much the same way the insurance company looks at you as an object. In operating their firms this way, they are more or less working for the insurance company instead of for you. They settle cases based on previous cases they have settled with the insurance company and sometimes even the same insurance adjuster, instead of assessing the human value of your losses and suffering, and the value that your case may have if it was presented to a jury.
Common Characteristics of These Firms
1) Don’t Ever Meet With the Attorney Until Case is Resolved
Often times, with firms like this you don’t know who your attorneys is, and they have paralegals, case managers and others handling your case, and sometimes even settling your case. This is problematic because the paralegals, case managers etc. do not know how to value a case.
2) Heavy Advertising
Settlement mills need to continuously advertise to be able to hit their goals. And by their goals I mean their numbers. They don’t care about your case, what they care about is to make sure they hit the numbers that the people on top have decided on. To that end, if they have not met their first quarter goals and by settling your case, they will be able to hit that number-guess what? your case is getting settled even if the value of your case could have been extremely higher than what the insurance company had offered you.
3) They Generally Have Zero Trial Experience
The lack of trial experience makes these firms not know the true value of your case. More importantly, the lack of trial experience along with the reputation that these firms have, make them an easy target for the insurance companies. This is because they know, no matter what happens, the firm will settle the case and, this will significantly reduce the offer the insurance company will give you.
Bottom line is, you need to be extremely diligent in choosing the right San Diego Car Accident Lawyer for your case. It is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life and, you want to make sure you choose an attorney who has your best interest in mind and looks at you as a human being with goals, dreams, feelings and desires, rather than an object to meet his or her own goals.
Thank you for reading my blog. I hope this helps you.
If you have any other questions, feel free to contact my office at 619-887-4148, send us a text message to 619-485-6313, send me an email at omid@rejalilawfirm.com or leave us a message here and we will get back to you.
Born to get you JUSTICE!