I have a saying. Other people may also have it. They may also have said it first. All I know is that I have a saying: Parties entering litigation will be crazy 80% of the time.
If you work litigation, you'll agree, otherwise you'll just sit there and scratch your head. Yeah, it's true. Most people can compromise. To be able to compromise, you'll have to have a healthy view of what you stand to gain, and what you stand to lose.
Since I work exclusively in plaintiff personal injury, I work with crazy people most of the time. They drive my attorney crazy. They drive the receptionists crazy. We all drive each other crazy, but mostly the client is off their rocker, whether it's a lot or a little, that rocker is loose.
To be honest, though, sometimes the adjusters are crazy. Sometimes I have a perfectly sane and rational plaintiff (and in 8 years I can count them on one hand) and the adjuster is the one who is off their bean.
Examples of a crazy adjuster? I have a few that I can share.
They use defenses like, well, if your client wasn't a smoker, then the machinery that grabbed her scalp would have healed faster.
They lose in lower court, appeal to higher court, and will not pay you the 4 grand to settle it, but would rather spend 5 more grand in attorney's fees, doctor depos, and airline tickets, not to mention that they WILL pay the judgment when it is granted, and the interest that is accruing. How does THAT math work for you?
They tell you their top offer is meds only with a DUI case that is twice over the legal limit.
They pay "liens" asserted against a claim without verifying it or getting their insured's permission. What happens is we make them pay that twice. Once to the "lienholder" and once back to our client. What a mess THAT was for them. Crazy.
Crazy clients are far more frequent. One of my special skills is the ability to relate to clients of a certain fragile mental state. There ARE some that I am not effective with, but for the most part, I do have a certain gift. I believe that the gift stems from my belief that they are no worse off than I am. Everyone is crazy when you get to know them. A client in pain and in trouble is more likely to show you that vulnerability before someone who DOESN'T have that problem. If they were slightly crazy before the collision, they are going to be even more so after. This kinda shit brings out the worst in ANYONE, so if you can get over yourself and your own bullshit, you're going to be fine.
You've got to grow a thick skin in this profession. Folks are going to use some language on you, which doesn't faze me. Folks are going to yell, complain, rail out in anguish, and they are going to be unhappy. You were supposed to get them MILLIONS, and you can't do that. Yeah, that's what people think. If you're GOOD at your job, you'll start bursting that bubble EARLY, you'll do it gently, but firmly. You'll do it OFTEN. Your job is to prepare them for what is coming, and if you know damned well that they ain't getting the 100k you filed for, TELL THEM FROM JUMP STREET. Do yourself a favor.
Your clients will call you crying. Some of their personalities won't remember what you said. Sometimes they put their children on the phone so you can tell them why they can't have a new swingset from their collision. Even worse, sometimes they tell you that they can't wait for Junior to settle so they can pay that back rent. (Ruh Roh)
Although they are often crazy, they are NOT STUPID, which means that they can add, and they figure out that they can try to rattle you by questioning expenses and fees. If you're smart, you'll keep reminding them about expenses as you go along. My motto: Leave no room for excuses.
Customer service skills are VERY useful to you in this profession, and will keep you sane. Seriously. That and long lunches.
Also, having a bizarre sense of humor will save your sanity on most days.
All kidding aside, if you don't love people in general, this won't be the profession for you. You have to have compassion, understanding, and the marvelous ability to take even yourself with a large grain of salt.
No comments:
Post a Comment