While any local yellow pages will list hundreds of personal injury lawyers, the truth is that when it comes to resolving personal injury matters – sometimes a lawyer isn’t just a lawyer.

Attorney Eric Block – Sometimes, a lawyer is something more

Attorney Eric Block, whose practice concentrates on personal injury claims and trial work related to those claims, explained that too many lawyers settle cases for less than their full value:

I believe that one of the greatest problems with my profession is that all a lawyer has to do is graduate from law school, be admitted to practice and they can call themselves a trial lawyer. That’s just not so. Most lawyers that call themselves trial lawyers aren’t really trial lawyers at all.

The fact is that it is difficult to try these cases, and more to the point, it’s expensive to try cases nowadays. It costs anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 to try a case and the lawyer usually has to front all of that money. So, if a lawyer loses four cases, he’s $100,000 to $200,000 in the hole and very close to being out of business. The result is that a lot of lawyers simply don’t try cases any more; they settle them.

Don’t settle

Block says that while settling cases is common, it’s important for the opposing side to know that you are ready, willing and able to try a case at a moment’s notice. He explained:

We think it is so important that we provide our clients with that service. In fact, we try eight to 12 jury trials a year. We know what we’re doing. We do it well and our trial record speaks for itself. These days, most lawyers, even those who consider themselves to be trial lawyers, only try one or two cases a year.

More to the point, I can help get my clients more money for their cases in terms of settlement because insurance companies know that I’m ready, willing and able to try the case. If you stop and think about it, why would an insurance company pay the full value for a case when it knows that the plaintiff is represented by a lawyer who’s not going to try the case?

It has no incentive to pay full value for that case. Whereas, my clients know that they’re being represented by lawyers that have a track record that insurance companies know about. They know we’re ready, willing and able to try their case at a moment’s notice.

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.