It’s Never Too Late To Say You’re Sorry (But Earlier Is Better for Business) | InjuryBoard Chicago-Land
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It’s Never Too Late To Say
You’re Sorry (But Earlier Is
Better for Business)
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June 26, 2008 - 10:36 AM
Category: Medical Malpractice
Tags: personal injury, commercial litigation, doctors, patients
Posted by: Nick Avgerinos
To apply the law to a given situation, specific facts are needed. Legal
battles then center upon a game of “he said, she said,” leading to a
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messy fight and often less-than-ideal resolution. But what about the
truth? You can’t handle the truth. At least that’s what we’ve been told.
Protecting Your Family
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But what if we laid all the cards on the table right away?
In the Workplace
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Workplace Injuries
admitting their mistakes in “Slice of Humble Pie: Doctors may get Cash
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Workplace Discrimination
Bonus for an Apology.” In it, I referenced the recent New York Times
editorial with data suggesting that a simple “I’m sorry” or upfront offer
of fair compensation, depending on the situation, decreases the
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chances that a claim will be brought, thereby eliminating the need for
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I recently wrote about the financial reward doctors may get for
money. Everybody wins.
But what about personal injury claims? Someone is hurt and someone
is to blame. Everyone wants compensation but no one wants to pay.
Sound about right? Well, maybe businesses should consider a new
strategy. I just came across an article claiming that they, too, can reap
financial rewards for a similar forthrightness.
The study, conducted by University of Virginia Law School Professor
Jeffrey O'Connell and Associate Professor of Finance Patricia Born of
California State University-Northridge, examined court settlements of
businesses facing personal injury cases between 1988 and 2004 in
Texas and Florida. What did they find? Promptly paying plaintiffs' outof-pocket medical expenses and lost wages can save businesses money
as well as time. The upfront acknowledgement of fault circumvents
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Nick Avgerinos
Firm:
Capron & Avgerinos, P.C.
Steve Smalling
Firm:
Capron & Avgerinos, P.C.
Mike Rom
Firm:
Capron & Avgerinos, P.C.
Dan Capron
Firm:
Capron & Avgerinos, P.C.
It’s Never Too Late To Say You’re Sorry (But Earlier Is Better for Business) | InjuryBoard Chicago-Land
lengthy courtroom battles and decreases the prevalence of “pain and
suffering” awards.
In a time of complex mergers and acquisitions, something as simple as
an “I’m sorry” is too often overlooked. Businesses become entangled in
lawsuits for a multitude of reasons, but here is a simple way to get out
of personal injury suits as quickly as possible. Just fess up; sometimes
it’s okay to settle. Swallow those excuses along with a slice of humble
pie and focus your energy on making things right. The reward? The
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study estimates that companies could save an average total of
$114,000 per claim or $670,000 for severe injuries by promptly
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settling cases instead of fighting them in court. Not bad.
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O'Connell and Born propose an early offer system that would give
businesses 180 days to offer claimants payments for their medical
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expenses and lost wages. O’Connell explains this proposal, saying,
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"Thus a crucial element of the tort system's deterrence mechanism is
retained: Injured parties could still win suitably large monetary awards
under the early offers model for both economic and non-economic
damages in clear cases of aggravated error."
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Would such a system suit everyone’s purpose? The victim receives
acknowledgment and prompt compensation, and the business can cut
its losses, not losing time and money entangled in a lawsuit. Sounds
good. Then again, businesses might not be ready to claim
responsibility; maybe they’re not actually at fault. And maybe victims
would rather hold out for a larger award. Maybe not so good. O’Connell
and Born’s study provides interesting data, but the merits of their
proposal, and early settlement in general, still have to be weighed on a
case-by-case basis.
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