You have just been offered $1 million for your medical malpractice case, and you decide to reject it. Is this a gamble? Are you making a profound mistake?
You have just been offered $1 million for your medical malpractice case, and you decide to reject it. Is this a gamble? Are you making a profound mistake?
You are Offered $1,000,000 to Settle
As your medical malpractice case is approaching trial, the defense makes an offer to settle, and they are offering one million dollars to you. Your lawyer recommends that you take the million dollars, since he believes your case is worth that amount of money. If you are rejecting this offer, your lawyer is likely to ask you whether you like to gamble.
He asks this because when the defense makes an offer to settle your case for a significant amount of money, and your lawyer has also researched your matter and determined the true value of your case, which is the same as the settlement offer, it would be a big gamble not to take the offered amount. When you are not taking the settlement offer, you are rejecting a guaranteed amount of money that you would receive, if you had accepted that offer.
What are You Gambling
If you reject the defense’s offer for one million dollars, you are taking a risk that rolling the dice. You are essentially assuming these clear factors:
1. When you go to trial the jury will come back with a decision in your favor
2. The jury recognizes that you are entitled for compensation
3. The jury gives you compensation in excess of one million dollars
These things can certainly happen, but here the steps may be different in what will occur in that instance. When the jury comes back with much more money than what you were originally offered, the defense will do everything possible to knock that amount down. They will ask the trial judge to reduce that amount or even throw the jury’s verdict out, as being against the weight of evidence.
Now, no matter what the judge does, the defense is not going to be happy. Then the defense may appeal the case, and when they walk down the avenue of an appeal, the case can take one to two years to come to final resolution.
Is it worth the gamble and possibly the wait?
There are many contingencies in these circumstances. The court can throw the case out, the court can reduce the amount of the verdict, or they could even increase it depending upon the injuries. They could also decide that the amount that has been given to you is inconsistent, and send the case back for a brand new trial. Therefore, when you reject the settlement offer, you are taking a risk, you are gambling, as though you are going to a casino and putting one million dollars down on the table.
The question is, are you willing to risk one million dollars on one bet. If the answer is no then you should strongly consider the settlement offer, and the recommendation of your lawyer. Otherwise, it would be a big gamble, as there are chances of losing this large amount that is assured to you. You would not only be rejecting possibly a fair and sound offer, but also jeopardizing your future, only on a gamble that you might receive more money in the end.
