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Is It Harder To Settle Lawsuits Now?

Probably not – but it is harder to get the information you need to settle a lawsuit.

In the past, most of the delay in getting the information a lawyer needed to settle resulted from the delay caused by treatment – it’s a bad idea to settle a lawsuit until you are fully recovered, so it’s important to wait until that happens before you start requesting information.

A couple new things have happened over the last 20 years.

First, it’s hard for a lot of people to complete treatment, because they don’t have medical insurance to pay for it.

This has always been a challenge – but usually, if you were hurt and could get to a doctor, he would treat you. Maybe your lawyer could guarantee the doctor’s bill out of the settlement, or maybe he would just perform the surgery out of the goodness of his heart. But I really didn’t see too many people who needed surgery not getting it.

Now, it’s different. Doctors are driven by the economics of their own practice to make a profit. It is hard to find a doctor who will accept certain types of insurance, leave alone Medicaid or Caresource.

Partly because patients stiff them, doctors are less willing to treat people who don’t have insurance at all.

Second, it is harder and harder to get the information needed from doctors in order to settle lawsuits.

There are several reasons for this. Forms permitting the release of medical information have to be “bulletproof” – that is, they have to be filled out correctly to the letter, because doctors are scared of releasing information they should not. Why? Because now, they can get sued for releasing information without permission – which was unusual 20 or 25 years ago.

So if there is a problem with the form, it comes back to you, with directions for resubmitting it.
Doctors are reluctant to talk to lawyers at all – they are afraid primarily of malpractice suits, but also of lawsuits for improperly releasing information. And when they do talk to lawyers, they need money up front for their time.

I have no problem with paying in advance for the doctor’s time; but they are less likely to give you specific information, such as stating whether the accident left you unfit for a particular occupation, or the extent to which you suffered permanent impairment for any line of work. (I think this last one is because they simply don’t like being cross examined, so they say they don’t have the training to make these evaluations.)

My job as your lawyer is to get the information I need for your settlement. I do this by making it a practice of ordering copies of your records and bills as soon as possible from your doctors and hospital, and your insurance company. If you’re not sure whether there is enough insurance to cover your injuries, call me, Bill Strubbe, a Cincinnati Personal Injury Attorney. My phone is 513-621-4775. There is no charge for talking to me.

Other lawyers refer their clients to me. And if you decide you‘d rather hire someone else, that’s OK.
Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed. All discussions are limited to Ohio law unless otherwise indicated. And past performance cannot be used to predict future results.

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