gavel

How to Prevent
Unfair Settlements
And
Win The "Greater Weight"
Of The Evidence Challenges
 
A CLE Accredited Program
 Speaker/Author: Dr. Frank Liberti

Leveraging Demand Letters
to Obtain High Settlements in
Auto Accident Cases

 

A live 90-minute CLE webinar with interactive Q&A

Thursday, February 12, 2015 (in 2 days)
1:00pm-2:30pm EST, 10:00am-11:30am PST


This CLE webinar will examine strategies for personal injury attorneys to effectively draft and leverage demand letters in auto accident cases to obtain insurer settlements that meet or exceed insurance policy limits.

 

Description

 

In auto accident cases, the plaintiff’s demand letter can be the determining factor in securing a settlement that meets or exceeds the policy limits of the insured defendant’s coverage. Consequently, personal injury counsel must be deliberate and strategic in drafting a demand letter that is comprehensive and persuasive.

 

It’s no secret to personal injury lawyers that the insurance industry uses an armory of claims handling software and computer programs to determine claim value and cut settlement case value reserves. It is difficult for plaintiff attorneys to oppose the software’s claim value determination without specific knowledge of how the software system works. This adds a new layer of complexity to the drafting of demand letters.

 

Today’s demand letter should convince the insurer that the auto accident claim is a liability case with damages in excess of policy limits. The demand should detail the four medical corners of the case, as well as the administrative, legal and economic factors involved. The demand should also state the facts of the case and the deadline and manner in which the insurer must accept the demand or request an extension.

 

If the defendant’s insurer misses the deadline stated in the demand letter, plaintiff’s counsel should be prepared to leverage the demand letter to support a claim for bad faith, which gives rise to additional damages and attorneys’ fees for the plaintiff.

 

Listen as our authoritative panel of personal injury attorneys discusses their personal experiences with drafting and leveraging demand letters in auto accident cases that have resulted in significant settlements for their clients.

 

Outline

  • Best practices for drafting the demand letter
  • Timing considerations—when to submit the demand letter
  • Using bad faith claims as leverage to obtain significant settlements


Benefits


The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What are the key considerations for personal injury attorneys drafting demand letters in auto accident cases?

  • How is value entered into Colossus and other claim settlement software?
    What are some of the pitfalls personal injury counsel have confronted when drafting and submitting demand letters and how can they be avoided?

  • How can counsel use missed deadlines and other insurer oversights or errors as leverage to increase the settlement amount?

  • How can plaintiff attorneys obtain the insurance adjuster’s memorialized diary of the claim to determine which value drivers were omitted, denied or disputed?


Faculty

Richard Hastings, Founding Partner
Hastings Cohan & Walsh, Ridgefield, Conn.
Mr. Hastings has over 25 years’ experience as a personal injury litigator whose practice covers motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice and a host of other claims. He has been named among the top 100 trial lawyers in Connecticut and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Mr. Hastings has co-authored numerous texts on accident and injury law, including Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (CelebrityPress, 2011).

 

Ronald J. Cook, Partner
Willoughby Stuart Bening & Cook, San Jose, Calif.
Mr. Cook handles business litigation matters with an emphasis on litigation-based insurance issues, including coverage, defense and bad faith. He also frequently represents parties in first-party property claims and construction dispute matters. In addition to insurance, his practice includes commercial litigation, construction, real estate, personal injury and landlord-tenant law.

 

Dr. Frank Liberti
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Spanning 40 years, Dr. Liberti has consulted over 15,000 doctors and lawyers on the subject of personal injury and often presents on personal injury law issues. He instrumental in setting precedent at a State Supreme Court level against the “Verbal Threshold”. His focus in on winning the greater weight of the evidence challenges, even in the presence of unfair claims tactics.

 

Ordering


Live Webinar

You may invite an unlimited number of staff on one connection at your location.
(NOTE: OH, PA and KS attorneys also registering for CLE credit processing should call for special instructions.)

 

Additional connections or locations for this conference can be purchased at 25% off.

Live Webinar - $197.00: registration

Live Webinar & CLE Processing - $222.00: register+cle


CLE on Live Webinar

Continuing Legal Education credit processing is available for an additional fee per person per state in states where webinars and teleconferences are accredited.

 

This webinar is eligible for at least 1.5 general CLE credits and CLE credit processing can be ordered before or after the program, depending on state rules.

 

CLE credits are not available for PR or for NY attorneys admitted within the last 2 years.

If requesting CLE in one of the following states you must contact Strafford CLE via email or call 1-800-926-7926 ext. 35 prior to the program for special instructions.

 

AL, DE, IN, KS, ME, OH, OK, PA, VA, WI

 

CLE Processing $25.00: buy cle


How Does CLE Processing Work?

You must participate in the webinar to receive CLE credit.

After the webinar, submit Strafford's CLE Official Record of Attendance form. (A link to the form is included within your 'Program Access Instructions' email or the 'Thank You' email.) We will take care of the rest and send your CLE credit confirmation within approximately 30 days of receiving the completed CLE form.

 

See our CLE FAQs for more information.