There are frequent instances when more than two vehicles are involved in a car accident, and / or there are several people who are injured in one accident. When that happens, there may or may not be enough insurance coverage to compensate every injured person fully and fairly, and the at-fault party’s insurance can schedule a settlement conference to bring all the injured parties together and figure out a way to disburse whatever insurance monies may be available. This process is usually referred to as a “global settlement conference”.
Preparation for these global settlement conferences is similar to preparing for a mediation, and Robert Sparks Attorneys is always proactive in these situations. We will develop a portfolio of our client’s injuries, their medical bills, their out-of-pocket expenses, and what they should be entitled to for their pain and suffering. We are very transparent in this process, and will send a synopsis of our client’s injuries and bills to all the insurance companies and mediators involved so they are fully informed of our client’s settlement demand in advance and are ready to start discussing the case as soon as the global settlement conference begins.
We will also investigate the extent of the injuries of the other parties involved so that we can assess the value of their cases and prepare for multiple potential settlement results. For example, if the other parties are severely more injured than our client, we will have to be reasonable with our expectations; however, if our client is more injured or has more medical bills, we will be ready to advocate that they receive a greater portion of the insurance proceeds.
In a recent settlement conference, we worked with all the injured parties’ attorneys in advance of the global settlement conference, and agreed upon an equal split of the available insurance proceeds, because all the parties essentially had the same injuries and bills. It took about ten minutes for the insurance company to agree to the equal split and write the checks. Other times, these global settlement conferences can be contentious and last several hours.
Regardless of the situation, Robert Sparks Attorneys will be able to advise its clients of how to best move forward and maneuver through these cases involving multiple injured parties. If you have questions about a potential case, call (813) 710-4816 or online for a free consultation.