The coronavirus has thrown our daily routines into uncharted territory. Courts are closing, mediations are being cancelled, travel is limited and many are working from home. Despite these hurdles, there are still many tools and techniques available to help move cases along. The need certainly hasn’t gone away.
The good news is that we are already well connected thanks to technology, including email, texting, webinars and phone. We can now make the best use of our time in creative ways, reaching out to each other and the parties involved and making real progress towards settlements. Here are some suggestions:
Analyze costs
Use this time to send us your life care plans, economic loss reports, medical cost projections, MSAs and LMSAs for evaluation and pricing. Whether using our services for evaluations, reserving, or potential offers, let’s quantify future costs. We will also suggest creative ways to finance the settlement using annuities, trusts and other products.
Talk to the plaintiffs
Since most of us are in our offices or working from home, the parties to the settlement should mostly be available to discuss parameters and proposals. Reach out to the parties to get more information about the claimants, their family and financial status, all to help us design the most relevant proposals for negotiations.
Engage a mediator
Reach out to a mediation firm and arrange for a conference call with all the parties to discuss demands and offers, explore common ground, and/or narrow the scope of the negotiations. Even if you can’t find resolution, you are gaining knowledge about the case and moving the discussions forward.
Schedule training
This is a great time to arrange webinars on various topics like: Negotiating with Structures, Medicare Set-Asides, Liability MSAs, Settling Non-Personal Injury Claims, Settling Workers Comp Claims, Special Needs Trusts and so on. Contact us to customize a class for your staff.
Learn Compass™
Chronovo has online technology that enables adjusters and counsel to analyze cases, create proposals, compare costs, view case histories and search topics in our Library. If you already have access, take some time to review the features. If you don’t, just ask us for a user name and password so you can start exploring. We can also schedule on-line training.
