Proposals for settlement are creatures of Florida’s legislature. They are designed to encourage settlement by punishing people who don’t settle and who are unsuccessful at trial. Florida attorney Eric Block, whose practice concentrates on personal injury claims and trial work related to those claims, explained the concept:

Here’s how it works. Either side can file a proposal for settlement. If a plaintiff files it, he’s telling the defendant that he will settle his case for, let’s say, $10,000. By law, the defendant has 30 days within which to accept that settlement. If accepted, then the case will settle for $10,000 and it’s over. However, if the defendant doesn’t accept that settlement and the plaintiff gets 25 percent more than what they offered ($12,500 in this example), the defendant would be liable for paying the plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and costs from the date of the proposal for settlement forward – on top of the jury verdict.

On the other hand, let’s say a defendant files a proposal for settlement on a plaintiff for $10,000. The plaintiff has 30 days within which to accept the $10,000. If he does, case is over. However, if the plaintiff doesn’t accept it and does not get at least 75 percent of the offer at trial ($7,500 in this example), then the defendant is entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs. So, a ‘successful’ plaintiff could actually be ‘unsuccessful’ – especially if the attorneys’ fees are higher than the award itself.

Three ways to increase your chances of winning your case

Document & treat. Block says that there are three very important ways in which plaintiffs can increase their chances of winning their case. Here are the first two – document, document, document, and treat, treat, treat. He explained, “When you get hurt, go to the doctor. You’re never going to convince a jury that you have a real injury when you don’t go to the doctor and treat. Now, does that mean you should treat when you don’t need to? Absolutely not; that’s dishonest. It’s untruthful and will always come back to haunt you. However, when you need treatment, you need to go to the doctor and explain what’s wrong and what hurts because it all comes down to documentation.”

Ask questions. On top of documenting and treating, Block says that there is a third way to increase your chances – ask questions, ask questions and ask questions. He explained, “This is why we’re here. If you don’t understand how the system works, that’s ok. You’re not a lawyer. You haven’t gone to law school. You’re not trained. You’re not expected to know this stuff and that’s why you’re paying lawyers. So, ask questions. It’s important to hire a lawyer that can and will take your case to trial. Again, an insurance company has absolutely no incentive to pay the full value of your case if you’re represented by a lawyer that the insurance company knows isn’t ever going take the case to trial.”

If you’ve been injured due to the negligence of another, contact a Florida injury attorney to discuss your situation. The consultation is free, without obligation and strictly confidential.