Many insurance companies delay payment of claims. Even when their insureds are clearly at fault and cause serious injuries, or even death, they drag their feet, delaying and denying legitimate claims. The reason for this is apparent: why pay now when you can pay later? This is unfair and incredibly frustrating for people and families who have suffered serious injury or harm due to the carelessness of others.
Fortunately, California law provides an excellent and underutilized tool to shift the burden to recalcitrant wrongdoers: Code of Civil Procedure section 998. In certain cases, once sufficient facts have been gathered through discovery, including testimony and documents that establish the responsibility of the defendant and the severity of the harm to our client, we will send the defense a settlement offer via C.C.P. section 998. Under this law, if the defendant does not accept the offer within 30 days, and the case then proceeds to trial and we obtain a judgment against the defendant that is greater than the 998 offer we sent, our client can recover 10% interest plus the expert witness expenses from the time the 998 was sent through the trial. These interest and expert witness expenses can sometimes be six figures, or even seven figures, depending on the case. This is obviously real money for our clients and is a significant tool that can shift expenses to insurance companies who unnecessarily delay payment of clear claims.
Under the right circumstances, a strategically timed 998 offer can be a game changer for our clients.
