Apologies and Lawsuits: If the Defendant Is Sorry, Should You Care?
Explore the positive, yet limited, impact apologies may have in civil litigation.

June 25, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Much has been written in recent years about the positive impact apologies may have in civil litigation, from personal injury cases like car accidents to medical malpractice. One of the foremost advocates of this idea, Professor Jennifer Robbennold of the University of Illinois College of Law, has published the results of a variety of empirical studies showing that apologies effectively encourage settlement of civil disputes.

But practical barriers to getting defense counsel to encourage clients to apologize exist. The biggest issue is the fact that such hearsay can be used as an admission against interest if made during settlement negotiations that fail to resolve the dispute. Nonetheless, Robbennold's studies quite clearly show that plaintiffs react favorably to hearing an admission of responsibility for causing harm. In a paper entitled "Apologies and Settlement" published last year in Court Review, Robbennold examined surveys of 550 individuals in response to apology scenarios in settlement negotiations based on hypothetical legal conflicts.

To the extent that apologies speed up the settlement process, they can certainly provide benefits to defendants by helping them avoid greater legal expenses. But because plaintiffs are usually represented on a contingency fee basis, the central issue doesn't change: counsel must ensure that the settlement provides compensation that meets the injured person or wrongful death survivor's needs, and approximates the likely outcome if liability and damages issues are presented to a jury.

Personal Injury Attorneys Help Clients Understand Complex Damages Issues

The value of an experienced trial litigator is hard to overestimate when it comes to damages assessments. Many variables are at play, from the long-term effects of a traumatic brain injury, to the reduced earning potential for a primary family breadwinner who will no longer be able to continue in a lucrative career.

A client's choice of attorney makes a difference, because a personal injury lawyer who has sat across the table from defense attorneys and insurance adjusters knows when to toe the line and when to encourage a client to accept an offer.

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