Trials
Most trials are not as glamorous or exciting as depicted in the popular shows commonly seen on television. Real jury trials involve much more complex work and address the needs of seriously injured people whose lives have been drastically altered as the result of another person’s inappropriate conduct. Our trials represent the final attempt to obtain a resolution with the defendant’s insurance.
Neither the jury nor our clients want to go to trial; jury trials require an enormous amount of preparation and can become quite costly. Trial testimony and expert witness fees from a doctor, for example, can cost as much as $10,000.00 with trial costs potentially increasing with each expert witness. At Lee Cossell & Feagley, LLP, we make every effort to compromise our client’s claims as quickly as possible without having to endure the time, risk and expense of a jury trial. This usually saves money and time for our clients, the judicial system, the jury, and yes, the defendant.
Lee Cossell & Feagley, LLP does not file frivolous lawsuits nor do we represent people who are not injured. If our office is representing a plaintiff, then that plaintiff was seriously damaged and we are prepared to fight for their rights. If the insurance company refuses to properly pay a claim or attempts to bully our clients into accepting an inadequate settlement, then our office will take the case to trial. Our clients must then rely on an often skeptical group of their peers to obtain the justice they deserve.
However, our clients walk into a stacked deck. Indiana law precludes an attorney from informing a jury that the person being sued has insurance. We also cannot advise the jury that it is not the defendant themselves, but their insurance company whom is really controlling the case and that any verdict will be paid by the insurance company and not by the individual defendant. So the jury never knows that a multibillion dollar insurance company is the one responsible for paying the verdict and not the individual defendant. In fact, if there were no insurance involved, then we would not even be in trial.
Should it be necessary for our client to go to trial, you can rest assured that Lee Cossell & Feagley, LLP will zealously advocate for our clients. Our attorneys have the courtroom experience to go head-to-head with the most highly-paid defense counsel. Our office up-fronts significant resources to present our client’s case utilizing modern technology including aerial and satellite imagery, radiographic images and power-point presentations. Additionally, our office will hire highly trained experts be it doctors, accident reconstructionists, engineers, economists, and/or any other key specialists needed to properly explain our clients damages to the jury. If our client’s case goes to trial, then our staff will be working day and night until justice is served.
Oftentimes however, the insurance company, whom is the actual controlling hand behind the defense will simply refuse to properly pay a claim, make excuses as to why they should not pay the claim or will try to bully our clients into accepting a paltry or inadequate settlement. Why? Because the multibillion dollar insurance companies are corporations who are in the business of making money. So every claim the insurance companies rightfully pay reduces their overall profits which is bad for their business. Many of these insurance companies will explore virtually every aspect of a plaintiff’s life in an attempt to discredit the injured person and devalue their claim and seek to obtain every record available since the plaintiff’s childhood.
