The PMT Advantage – The Numbers Roundtable: Your Assurance of Proper Verdict and Settlement Value

By Thomas M. Bona.

What does every insurance company and claims adjuster want for the holidays? Closed claims! Because of our expertise and experience in settling claims, PMT can help you close claims now. In an interview with Rebecca Berger from “Justice for All” (above), Executive Partner Jeffrey Miller discusses the “PMT Numbers Roundtable”. He outlines how we ensure that PMT, as your trusted advisor, delivers the correct settlement and verdict value numbers at an incredibly high rate of accuracy.

By Thomas M. Bona.

When an insurance adjuster asks their defense attorney for his opinion of the case’s value, what usually happens is relatively standard. Their attorney looks at the injuries and other factors that may include liability, venue, and the plaintiff’s attorney’s identity. Then the attorney decides upon the value of the case, which would consist of verdict value and settlement value. However, in some instances, an attorney may seek a second opinion because of the injury, novelty of the case, or other factors. So, the defense attorney may ask a colleague. Of course, such a process is subjective and is entirely at the mercy of the person offering his opinion.

Many factors can skew the value equation: a person may have a bad back and feel that a back injury is less severe and, therefore, less valuable because they have lived with back pain for a long time. Or they may see an injury as having much greater value because a loved one has had a similar injury, which has rendered them unable to carry on daily activities. As a result, values based on individual opinions can miss the mark, and miss the mark by a lot. An incorrect value may surprise, disappoint, and shock. It may lead to a case not getting settled within the adjuster’s authority. Even worse, if a case goes to trial with an incorrect value and a jury returns a verdict in excess of the policy, the resulting consequences can be disastrous to all.

However, at Pillinger Miller Tarallo, LLP, our clients experience the PMT Advantage with our Numbers Roundtable. It is a unique and proprietary process that we employ in every case from $1500 and up. Our assigned attorney presents a synopsis of the case to six senior partners, each with over 20 to 30 years of experience. They question the presenter about all aspects of the case: venue, liability, injuries, the assigned judge, and plaintiff counsel, among other factors. In the end, each of the six senior partners gives their opinion of the case’s verdict and settlement value.

The PMT Numbers Roundtable is a better way to arrive at the case’s value and, for the adjuster, the reserve for the case. With subjective biases eliminated, the mastermind group, relying on over 200 years of collective experience, arrives at an acceptable range for verdict value and settlement value. A PMT Numbers Roundtable value does not change because a trial is scheduled but will only change for explained and substantiated reasons, such as a new injury or a previously undisclosed expert exchange. The PMT Numbers Roundtable is why we consistently obtain the correct verdict and settlement values that our clients can count on. We provide our Numbers Roundtable before a trial settlement conference and during any juncture of a case as long as there is sufficient information to make an assessment, even with an initial analysis. One of PMT’s Executive Partners, Jeff Miller says “there have been countless instances where plaintiffs have rejected settlements based on our Numbers Roundtable values only to have a jury come back with a lower monetary damages verdict. Our PMT Numbers Roundtable is ridiculously accurate and gets the correct verdict and settlement values over 98% of the time.”

Esteemed within the insurance industry, the PMT Advantage Numbers Roundtable is the gold standard by which carriers often seek a second opinion on cases they have assigned to other counsel. Carriers use PMT’s Numbers Roundtable to evaluate their risk accurately and assist them with cost-effective resolution through critical early evaluations. Our roundtable numbers establish carrier’s parameters for high/low arbitrations and high/low agreements at trial. Insurance companies agree with our approach as they have been using PMT’s Numbers Roundtable for years. Rather than rely on guesswork, let us show you how we can make the PMT Advantage work for you.

Should you have any questions, please call our office at (914) 703-6300 or contact:

Jeffrey T. Miller, Executive Partner
jmiller@pmtlawfirm.com

Thomas M. Bona, Partner
tbona@pmtlawfirm.com