“I really enjoy helping clients recover from a loss,” said Izzy Yetnikoff, Esq., Principal at Yetnikoff Law Offices in Scottsdale, Arizona. Yetnikoff is a personal injury attorney and has recovered tens of millions of dollars for clients over the years. He looks at his role as leveling the playing field. “Everyone should have an equal opportunity at a fair recovery. The lawyer works to level the playing field between the disadvantaged injury victim — often vulnerable and uneducated in the particular laws — and the insurance company on the other side, an entity that has all the wealth, resources, and time to undervalue and underpay the claim,” Izzy Yetnikoff said. “I protect the client to ensure he or she is not taken advantage of by the at-fault person.” This experience plays a pivotal role in ensuring clients get the maximum from their claims. It takes someone with knowledge of the law, expertise in dealing with insurance companies, and skill in the art of negotiation. While we think of cases going to trial as the standard, approximately 95% of personal injury cases get settled before hitting the courtroom. Without someone who knows how the insurance system works and what constitutes a good offer, it’s easy for people to settle too early and get too little.
Personal injury cases vary greatly, and each case has unique circumstances. PI claims run the gamut, including:
Some of the most challenging cases include subjective damages. “An X-ray will clearly show the injury of a broken bone,” said Yetnikoff. “However, the emotional trauma of losing a loved one, or being injured, or the loss of future business opportunities is quite subjective. The challenge is in assigning a monetary value to the loss or injury and then persuading or fighting with the insurance company to pay that amount.”
While you can try to handle a personal injury claim on your own, it’s rarely a good idea. You are at a severe disadvantage compared to a corporation or insurance carrier which has every reason to low-ball a settlement or drag out a case for years. “Many injury victims believe that they can self-direct their own claims, and resolve the claims on their own," Izzy Yetnikoff said. “Usually in these cases, the self-represented injury victim will only recover 10-20% of the funds available for payment and settlement of the claims, and will fail to obtain the full measure of due compensation.” Another reason you want to engage a PI attorney is the way technology has changed how personal injury cases are handled.
Insurance carriers have also become even more aggressive in denying claims or creating delays. Sophisticated technology has now become their latest tactic. Two recent class action suits alleged that Cigna and United Healthcare used AI predictive tools to automate claim denials. Zurich Insurance uses AI to decide personal injury claims and boasted that it “saved 40,000 work hours, while speeding up the claim processing time to five seconds.” Let that sink in. A life-altering accident may only get a five-second review — and it comes from a machine, not a human being. AI-driven claim analysis has become more common as insurance carriers look to control costs and streamline processes. The tech can sift through mountains of data faster than humans can and decide what your case is worth without seeing the accident, hearing your story, or understanding the pain and suffering that goes beyond the medical bills. “Insurance companies have become more tenacious in denying claims, have created longer delays, and have grown more sophisticated in the use of technology,” Yetnikoff said. “I stay ahead of the game by leveraging cutting-edge technology for the law firm, often the same technology employed by the insurance company, including AI and computer software to counteract the insurance company's efforts to undervalue the claim or underpay the client.”
Who you choose as your attorney for a personal injury case can make a significant difference. When researching and evaluating lawyers, here are some of the key things you need to look for.
It takes time to learn the nuances of how the law, courts, and insurance companies work. The more experienced your attorney is, the more likely you are to get better results. They will have been through the process many times and will know how to handle the biggest obstacles in the most complex and demanding cases. So, look for a personal injury attorney who has expertise in the type of case you’re bringing and make sure it is one of the main practice areas that they focus on. “An injury victim should be represented by an attorney that specializes exclusively in personal injury legal work, and is active in this legal area every day,” Yetnikoff said.
Managing personal injury cases can be expensive. If you have been hurt, you may not be able to pay for a legal case to move forward. Fortunately, reputable personal injury lawyers work on contingency. This means they don’t get paid until the case has been resolved. Since they only get paid if you win your case, they will fight harder to get you maximum value. The best attorneys will factor their fees into negotiations, so even though a percentage of the final award goes to the attorney, you still get the best result. This arrangement allows attorneys to take on cases regardless of someone’s financial situation — providing equitable access to justice by advancing costs and expenses, and by leveraging the same knowledge and experience used to defend the claims. “Everyone has equal access to justice because all cases are taken on a contingency basis,” Yetnikoff said. The client does not pay anything until a settlement or judgment is achieved. The insurance company pays its own fees and expenses right away, and so the law firm must do the same - pay the client’s fees and costs by working through a contingency framework. Once the settlement or judgment is reached, the attorney earns the fees, and is reimbursed the expenses advanced in the case.”
A lawyer’s reputation and professionalism can impact your case. Make sure you are working with a reputable law firm that is in good standing in your community. Professional lawyers should be responsive, attentive, and provide personalized services. Communication will be key in the attorney-client relationship, so you will want to evaluate how well a lawyer listens to your concerns and explains how things work. The attorney’s efforts at communication early in the case will indicate how well the attorney communicates throughout the entire case. By Chris Bates
