Sometimes there is a reason not to settle your case. If your injury is severe and requires expensive medical treatment, the insurance company is paying for that treatment to help make you better so you can return to work in the future. Once your case is settled, absent a provision for open medical treatment, you are on your own to pay for that treatment going forward from the date of the settlement. With inflation and the astronomical cost of medical treatment, some clients opt to keep their cases open so that they can receive continuing care.

Also, the insurance company may not offer enough money to settle. While there are restrictions on how many weeks you may receive benefits and medical treatment, the insurance company might not make it feasible for you to settle your case. Sometimes that means I don't make any money on your file, but that is the nature of the business I chose. My goal is to help my clients get the most recovery possible under the law. If that means keeping a file open longer than normal, then so be it.

I like to keep up with my clients after the settlement so that I know things are going well. I do not like to settle cases as quickly as possible, give you money, then forget about you. My practice is based on referrals and word of mouth, so I want to make sure that my clients are satisfied with the results of the claim. If I enter this business to make a quick dollar, then I would not have family members of former clients using me for their cases. How does that happen? Sometimes you have to know when to settle a case. And, as the late, great Kenny Rogers taught us, you have to know “when to walk away.”