Just as changes are sometimes made in the realm of criminal law to reflect changes in ethical stances among the public, changes also occur in civil law. Personal injury cases are in the area of civil law, and a Personal Injury Attorney in Vernon CT may sometimes notice that judges and juries are approaching certain cases differently than was true in the past. This will affect the way that settlements are negotiated as well.
Insurers, Settlements and Court Awards
When juries begin awarding higher amounts in damages for certain types of cases, lawyers from firms such as Kahan Kerensky and Capossela LLP take note. They know they can ask for higher settlements now because the precedent has been set and the trend is continuing.
Insurers, normally responsible for payments of settlements and court awards, usually avoid going to trial if possible. Juries are too unpredictable and they sometimes award amounts that are dramatically higher than the lawyer originally asked for.
Medical Malpractice
A Personal Injury Attorney in Vernon CT who handles medical malpractice cases watches the legal news for information about changes in the way these cases are handled. One point these lawyers have discovered is that fewer malpractice cases are being filed, but the settlements are becoming higher than might be expected. Legal reforms in this category are making the filing of malpractice claims more challenging, so there has been a reduction in their numbers. Those that actually are filed tend to be the most egregious.
Compensatory and Punitive Damages
Juries have occasionally awarded shockingly large amounts of money in both compensatory and punitive damages to plaintiffs in the past five years. Lawyers keep an eye on this situation. They want to be alert for any client who approaches them who might deserve court awards of this magnitude.
However, it’s important for injured persons to understand that awards in the millions of dollars are rare. These judgments typically are made against large corporations that willfully cause situations that those in charge knew could serious injure people or cause fatalities. Judgments against drug manufacturers are some of the more prevalent examples. Sometimes these are class action lawsuits instead of individual suits.
