Episode #3: Pre-Litigation Law is Legit! - Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

this episode of the B

king Do

n The L

Podc

e’

e joined by Bntley S

sseen,

ef="https:

inju

yvictims.com

m-membe

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ntley-s

sseen

“>pe

son

l inju

tto

ney<> in Houston

ho speci

lizes in p

e-litig

tion leg

l se

vices. He's joined by B

king Do

n The L

Podc

st host,

shley

iguez.

ing tod

y’s episode

e’ll be

sking B

ntley

t goes into

son

l inju

y cl

im,

hich is kno

s p

e-litig

tion o

the po

tion of you

se th

t occu

s befo

e t

l o

settlement discussions. B

ntley h

s ove dec

de of expe

ience in p

e-litig

tion

ill she his

dvice on:

P
e-litig
tion is the p
ocess of collecting info
m
tion
bout
n
ccident o
inju
y once
n individu
l selects
l fi
m to help them
ith thei
c
se.<
li>
You
lyeill
ssess
h
t insu

nce cove

ges

e
v
il
ble, t
y to identify the li
ble pty, inst
uct
ddition
l p
e-litig
tion investig
tions
ssignments, help the client
ith seeking medic
l c

e fo
thei
inju
ies
nd
ecove
y t
e
tments,
nd filing the cl
im
ith you
insu

nce p
ovide
/s. They
ill
lso
gg
essively follo
-up
ith you
insunce p
ovide

nd thei
cl
im
djuste
to ensu
e you
c
se is
dd
essed quickly
nd not stuck in leg
l pu
g
to
y.
Once you
eceive
settlement offe
f
om the dem
nd p
ck
ge sent in by you
fi
m, you eitheccept the offe
o
you
l

ye

ill counte
depending on
h
t you
needs

e.
Benefits of p
e-litig
tion include h
ving mo
e cont
ol of you
outcome vs. going to t
i
l
nd possibly losing
ithout compens
tion. This is
hy p
e-litig
tion settlements c
n be
dv
nt
geous to secu
e <
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
ho
-much-c-
ccident-settlement/”>c
ccident settlements<>.<
li>

ntley discusses these points

nd so m

ny mo

e, so

e hope you’ll join us fo

this episode! St

y tuned fo

the next inst

llment of the B

king Do

n The L Podc

ith Ste

t J Guss

shley

iguez!

Cont

ct Us: 281-783-3934 o

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o : 0:09

B
e
king do
n the l B
e
king do
n the l
podc
st hosted by
tto
neys
nd leg
l speci
lists discussing eve
yd
y l
nd ho
it
ffects
egul people,
egul

people. Let’s b
e
k do
n the l
ith ou
host Ste
t Gus
shley
od
iguez. They h
ve the inside scoop on eve
ything leg
l
nd ne
s
o
thy.
shley
od
iguez : 0:35 Hey, eve
yone,
elcome to b
e
king do
n the l

.
nd this is
shley
nd tod
y
e h
ve
speci
l guest
ith us. Bntley S
sseen : 0:41

Hey, this is B

ntley S
sseen senio
executive
tto
ney he
e
ith the fi
m.
shley
od
iguez : 0:46

Hi, B

ntley, th
nk you fo
joining us. You’
e
p
e litig
tion
tto
ney.

B

ntley S
sseen : 0:51
e often
efe
to
tto
neys in te
ms of the duties th
t they h
ndle
nd the t
uth is th
t the
e's you don't necessily h
ve p
e litig
tion
tto
neys
nd litig
tion
tto
neys
e
lly
ll
tto
neys e equipped to h
ndle
ll of those
spects. So the distinction is mo
e so in te
ms of ho

e comp

tment
lize things
nd the dep

tments th
t
e inte
n
lly h
ve.
nd he
e
t the fi
m,
e h
ve t
o senio
executive
tto
neys,
nd
e've so
t of divided
nd conque
ed those
esponsibilities.
nd I p
imily h
ndle eve
ything th
t f
lls into the p
e litig
tion side of things.
shley
od
iguez : 1:24
nd so
nd it’s pe
son
l inju
y,
ight?

B

ntley S
sseen : 1:26 Coect.
ll pe
son
l inju
y.
shley
od
iguez : 1:28

Is the
e
specific
e
son you chose pe
son
l inju
y? O
did you just f
ll into th
t?

B

ntley S
sseen : 1:32 Little bit of both. I h
ppen to g

du
te l school
t
time
hen the economy

s not g
e
t. It

s 2009.
nd jobs
e
e scce. They
e
e hd to come by.
nd
t the end of the d
y, you h
ve to m
ke ends meet someho
.
nd so you kind of t
ke
h
teve
comes you
y.
nd the fi
st job essenti
lly, th
t I s
ble to find

s
ith
e
lly
gene

l p

ctice fi
m, but they
e
e lgely focused in Pe
son
l inju
y
nd oddly enough on the defense side
t the time, so he
e obviously
e
e do
ll pl
intiffs
o
k,
ep
esenting the people
ho

e inju
ed in those situ
tions. But I st

ted off on the othe
side,
ctu
lly on the defense side.
nd f
om the
e

s just
ble to develop some skills
nd some expe
ience in th
t p

ticul

indust
y
nd continue
ith the genel pctice thing fo
hile,
fte
eventu
lly coming do
n he
e to Houston,
nd then ended up
ith Ste
t
nd the
est is histo
y.
shley
od
iguez : 2:29

So
ould you s
y th
t doing th
t defense side fi
st gives you mo
e of
unique expe
ience to kno

e
lly kind of ho
to help the pl
intiffs bec
use you’ve been on both sides?

B

ntley S
sseen : 2:40 I definitely think so. One of the things th
t
e see p
etty commonly these d
ys is th
t even though you m
y h
ve
n opposing
tto
ney on the othe
side, on the defense side,
e
lly the enti
e indust
y h
s come to
he
e diffe
ent side is beholden to the insu

nce comp
ny. So even though you h
ve
pe
son
ith
f
ce
nd
n
me on the othe
side
ho’s the
ctu
l defend
nt
ho c
used the eck?
e
lly, it's the insunce comp
ny c
lling the shots
nd m
king the decisions.
nd the
e e
lot of behind the scene
equi
ements th
t they h
ve of the defense fi
ms th
t
o
k
ith those insunce comp
nies
s
ell.
nd h
ving some insight into ho
th
t p
ocess
o
ks
nd
h
t the communic
tions m
y even be like, behind the scenes bet
een defense counsel
nd insu

nce comp
nies, ce
t
inly, I think
ffo
ds
unique pe
spective to hoe choose to
pp
o
ch things on the pl
intiff's pe
son
l inju
y side
s
ell.
shley
od
iguez : 3:33 So since you
o
k in the p
e litig
tion side of things,
h
t do you think e like the benefits of th
t side of the l

befo
e you get to litig
tion?

B

ntley S
sseen : 3:43 Ye
h, so the p
ob
bly the most obvious benefit is the speed
ith
hich you c
n potenti
lly
esolve
c
se
nd
cl
im.
nyone
ho h
s eve
expe
ienced litig
tion befo
e
nd it’s no sec
et th
t th
t p
ocess t
kes
long time. Th
t's due Due to the f
ct th
t the
e

e ce
t
in de
dlines th
t

e simply set by the cou
t
nd o
the st
tutes th
t
e h
ve he
e in Tex
s,
nd the
e's no negoti
ting th
t the
e’s no ch
nging th
t it’s just set
nd you'
e just stuck
ith it.
nd it’s ve
y common th
t even on
h
t seems to be
n obvious c
se, th
t should be settled on e
sy c
se, so to spe
k
ith might c
ll it in litig
tion, the
e’s
lot of you still kind of h
ve to go th
ough the motions, you still h
ve to complete ce
t
in p

ts of the p
ocess.
nd even on the quick side of things
nd litig
tion, speci
lly he
e in H
is County
ight no

ith the size of the dockets th
t ou
civil cou
ts h
ve, th
t c
n be nine months in to the p
ocess just to get to the ely
esolution. If you’
e looking
t you kno
, going
ll the

y to t
i
l, fo
ex
mple, c
n e
sily be 1824 months befo
e you you hit th
t t
i
l d
te,
nd sometimes even then th
t t
i
l d
te th
t you'
e expecting to go, you sho
up o
you’
e p
ep

ed. fo
it,
nd it gets
eset, bec
use the cou
t just doesn't
e
ch the c
se. So th
t's the most obvious
e
son to t
y to
esolve c
ses in
p
e litig
tion p
ocess is th
t I kind of h
ve it
lot soone
. Inte
esting.
h
t I
lso tell people is th
t le
ves things in you
h
nds
nd you e the one essenti
lly in cont
ol,
t le
st to
ce
t
in extent of th
t settlement.
t the end of the d
y. If you'
e t
lking
bout going to cou
t,
nd then especi
lly going to t
i
l point in time th
t you h
ve
judge o

ju
y deciding th
t c
se, you've lost
ll cont
ol, you e going to be stuck
ith
h
teve
th
t decision is. So sometimes it c
n ce
t
inly even be f
ust

ting, you kno
, the insunce comp
ny m
y not nt to p
y
s much
s you think the c
se is
o
th o
you m
y h
ve
ton of medic
l bills
nd it m
y be tough
ithin the insunce limits th
t

e
v
il
ble to get
ll of th
t cove
ed
nd still get
ce
t
in
mount of money in you
pocket th
t you think is f
i
. But
t the end of the d
y,
t le
st you still h
ve cont
ol of th
t
t le
st you c
n h
ve some gu
ntee of I'm going to be
ble to
eceive I'm going to be
ble to
esolve this
nd I’m not gonn
end up in
position
he
e I’m just stuck
ith eve
ything bec
use some othe
c
n be
g
me people o
pe
son h
ve m
de th
t decision th
t th
t’s so th
t's the the biggest benefit of it, I believe.
shley
od
iguez : 6:14

C
n you kind of desc
ibe the p
ocess of p
e litig
tion like ho
does it st

t?
he
e do
e
he
e
ould someone st

t? If they
e
e, I could s
y in
c
ccident,
nd then they c
me to us
nd hi
ed us, then ho
does it go?

B

ntley S
sseen : 6:26 Ye
h,
bsolutely. So
s soon
s someone is signed up
ith us, the
e's
fe
things th
t h
ve to h
ppen. Initi
lly, obviously,
e’ve got to get
cl
im set up
ith
ny
pplic
ble insu

nces th
t e in pl
ce,
nd sometimes
s
p
ecu
so
, th
t it's
n investig
tion to find out
h
t insunce coveges if
ny,

e
v
il
ble. Obviously, the
e’s
lso going to be
n investig
tion into the li
bility
spect of the c
se. Unfo
tun
tely, th
t is not
l

ys necess

ily cle

.
t le
st
t fi
st gl
nce, sometimes
police
epo
t st
tes some f
cts o
st
tes th
t
eck h
ppened
ce
t
in

y o
even m
ybe
ssigns some f
ult to one p

ty o
the othe
.
nd
n investig
tion m
y
eve
l th
t th
t’s not enti
ely
ccu

te. Sometimes the insu

nce comp
nies nt to be difficult, they don't nt to
ccept li
bility, even in
h
t seems to be
p
etty cle c
se. So some
ddition
l
o
k is sometimes
equi
ed to cont
ct some
ddition
l
itnesses
nd b
sic
lly piece togethell of the evidence o
info
m
tion th
t
e h
ve
v
il
ble to t
y to p
esent the c
se o
the cl
im in the best m
nne
possible,
shley
od
iguez : 7:37

bec
use you h
ve th
t they'
e li
ble in o
de
to h
ve
c
se.

B

ntley S
sseen : 7:39 Ultim
tely, you do h
ve to p
ove th
t so
nd
hen
e t
lk
bout p
oof,
e’
e
e
lly t
lking mo
e so
bout
hen
e go to cou
t p
oving
ce
t
in thing. In
sense, you

e p
oving it to the insunce comp
ny, but
e
lly
t the end of the d
y, on the p
e litig
tion side, it’s mo
e
bout t
ying to p
esent it in such
m
nne
th
t you get the insu

nce comp
ny to
ccept
esponsibility,
t le
st To the extent th
t they’ll do so. So those

e so
t of the fi
st things th
t h
ppen, get the cl
im set up, get
ll of the evidence th
t
e c
n possibly get g
the
ed in the initi
l time f

me.
nd then othe
th
n th
t,
e ce
t
inly help ou
clients t
y to
eceive the best medic
l ce th
t they possibly c
n to stt
ecove
ing f
om the inju
y. So
e
lly, you h
ve those t
o things, it's the insunce
nd the cl
im side of it. But then it's
lso the the t
e
tment side of it
nd
ecove
y f
om you
inju
y. So
e do
lot of coo
din
tion, t
ying to m
ke su
e th
t especi
lly fo
folks
ho don't h
ve he
lth insunce, fo
ex
mple, th
t
e help them find
y to f
cilit
te still getting the medic
l t
e
tment th
t they need.
nd th
t’s not
n e
sy thing to n
vig
te, especi
lly fo
someone
ho's neve
been th
ough the p
ocess befo
e.
nd th
t's
big p

t of the se
vice th
t
e'
e
ble to offe
. F
om the
e,
ssuming th
t you kind of get p
st those initi
l ph
ses. I
ould s
y the bulk of the time
fte
th
t it consists of
lmost iting th
t’s so f
ustting. You neve
kno
ex
ctly
h
t medic
l t
e
tment you'
e going to
equi
e, you m
y not even necessily knoll of the inju
ies th
t you h
ve. So you’
e going to get in
ith
docto
, you’
e going to get
t
e
tment pl
n, you'
e going to see if you st

t
esponding to some of th
t c

e. If not, they’
e p
ob
bly going to h
ve to do some di
gnostic testing,
e’
e gonn
h
ve to t
ke
look
t
h
t those di
gnostic
esults

e,
nd if they h
ve
ddition
l
ecommend
tions f
om the
e. So th
t c
n be
ny
he
e f
om
couple of months to m
ny months, o
even ove ye, sometimes depending upon the extent of inju
ies
nd the
mount of t
e
tment th
t the docto
believes is
nted. But once you
e
ch the end of th
t medic
l t
e
tment p
ocess,
nd you e so
t of
t the limit of eitheh
t the docto
c
n do fo
you o
you h
ve
ecove
ed to the extent th
t you c
n f
om those inju
ies, then
e h
ve
couple of diffe
ent p
ocesses f
om the
e. The fi
st one involves collecting
ll of you

eco
ds
nd bills, you
medic
l
eco
ds
nd bills so th
t
e c
n put togethe

complete dem
nd p
ck
ge, get
complete pictu
e of eve
ything cove
ed
nd get th
t ove
to the insu

nce comp
ny, depending upon ho
m
ny met
ls p
ovide
s
nd
evolve ho
extensive the t
e
tment s. Th
t c
n h
ppen
ny
he
e
s quick
s you kno
, th
ee o
fou

eeks getting
ll of th
t into sometimes it c
n t
ke
s much
s you kno
, eight to 12
eeks if
e've got hole lot of p
ovide
s involved,
nd especi
lly if you've got some hospit
ls
nd
h
tnot c
n sometimes t
ke
bit on the longe
side to
ctu
lly get those
eco
ds
nd bills.
shley
od
iguez : 10:19 Yes, you'
e

iting fo
them.
nd you h
ve no cont
ol

B

ntley S
sseen : 10:21
e’
e so
t of
t thei
me
cy
t th
t point in time,
e ce
t
inly do eve
ything
e c
n to t
y to expedite th
t bec
use
e h
te

iting
nd iting
nd

iting. But sometimes it t
kes
little bit on the longe
end. But once
e get
ll of th
t in ou
dem
nd dep

tment,
hich
g
in is unde
my pu
vie
,
s pt of the p
e litig
tion side of things, they p
ep

e
complete dem
nd p
ck
ge to be sent to the insu

nce comp
ny o
comp
nies th
t m
y be involved. Then
e
ssign one of oussoci
te
tto
neys to
evie
th
t dem
nd p
ck
ge, beef it up, t
e
k it m
ke
ny ch
nges th
t they believe

e
nted
nd once they sign off on it, essenti
lly
nd s
y it's good to go. Then
e h
ve th
t sent out to The insu

nce comp
ny o
comp
nies th
t

e involved f
om the
e, it c
n t
ke no
m
lly

eek o
t
o fo
the insunce comp
ny to
ctu
lly
eceive the dem
nd.
nd then foctu
lly to get into the h
nds o
on the desk of the
djuste
th
t's going to be h
ndling the cl
im. Th
t’s one thing th
t I think
lot of folks
ould not necessily expect. You think
e’
e m
iling this dem
nd to th
t
djuste
. They’
e going to get it
s soon
s the m
il is delive
ed. It's not
ctu
lly the y it h
ppens. Most of the time, most of the insu

nce comp
nies h
ve p
ocessing deptments th
t m
y not even be in the s
me st
te
nd building
s the
ctu
l
djuste

ho’s
ssigned to you
cl
im. So th
t p
ocessing deptment h
s to
eceive the dem
nd, unp
ck it, sc
n it in,
nd then eventu
lly it m
kes its y ove
to the
djuste
so
shley
od
iguez : 11:45
nd
e hope he's not on v
c
tion, Bntley S
sseen : 11:46
e hope so sometimes they e sometimes they e but
e ce
t
inly hope not. But once the
djuste
gets it f
om the
e,
e'
e usu
lly c
lling
bout the s
me time th
t it's going to be in thei
h
nds m
ybe
little bit
fte

ds to numbe
one Confi
m th
t they've
eceived it.
nd numbe
t
o, m
ke su
e th
t they’
e stting th
t ev
lu
tion
t one thing th
t
e ce
t
inly kno
is th
t the sque
ky
heel gets the g
e
se.
nd if you’
e not c
lling, if you’
e not even peste
ing them
little bit to be quite honest
bout it, then you’
e going some
he
e to the bottom of the pile,
nd you’
e p
ob
bly not going to he f
om them fo
some time. So
bout t
o
eeks in
ftee've m
iled out th
t dem
nd,
e stt c
lling the
djuste
to s
y, H
ve you got it? Do you h
ve esponse fo
us yet? The t
uth is f
om the time th
t the
djuste
gets th
t dem
nd in thei
h
nds, it typic
lly t
kes
bout 30 d
ys fo
them to complete
n ev
lu
tion,
nd then p
ovide us
ith

esponse to ou
dem
nd p
ck
ge.
nd suffice it to s
y if the
esponse is f
i
,
nd en
bles us to h
ve

e
son
ble conve
s
tion
bout potenti
lly getting th
t c
se settled,
nd
e’ll c
unch some numbe
s on ou
side,
e
ill communic
te
ith ou
client, obviously,
bout
ny offe
s th
t come in, but ce
t
inly if
e h
ve

o
k
ble offe

bout
h
t those numbe
s look like
nd then
ssuming
e’
e
ll
ble to be on the s
me p
ge. The
e’s still some b
ck
nd fo
th negoti
tion th
t typic
lly h
ppens
ith the insu

nce comp
ny
ith the
djustet th
t point. But eventu
lly
e
ill
ive
t
fin
l numbe
, so to spe
k.
nd then
e
ill
sk them to send ove
the fin
l p
pe

o
k
nd
o
k to get th
t fin
lized.
nd I
on’t t
lk too much
bout the post settlement p
ocess bec
use th
t's
ctu
lly it's unde
my pu
vie
, but it
pplies equ
lly to p
e litig
tion
nd litig
tion. It’s kind of
fte
the settlement h
ppens but th
t’s it in
nutshell. So th
t’s th
t's kind of the enti
e p
e litig
tion p
ocess. I could t
lk fo
hou
s
giving the inneo
kings of
ll of th
t, but I think those

e the highlights fo
the most pt.
shley
od
iguez : 13:37

Yes, definitely
long p
ocess feel like
e get it done
s f
st
s
e c
n.
nd I think th
t’s kind of due to
e kind of h
ve
big deptment. So I me
n, you h
ve sevel people th
t
o
k fo
you to do this p
ocess.

B

ntley S
sseen : 13:50
bsolutely.
nd fo
M
. Guss, h
ving done this fo
20 plus yes. I've been doing it fobout
dec
de myself
t this point. The
e e
lot of things
hen you fi
st St

t off th
t you just don't kno
, you don’t kno
to
nticip
te th
t it m
y t
ke
little bit longe
fo
th
t
djuste
to get the dem
nd in thei
h
nds. You don't kno
th
t this hospit
l is noto
iously difficult, you kno
,
nd then t
kes, on
vege t
o months to
ctu
lly p
ovide you those
eco
ds
nd bills. So definitely
hen you come he
e,
hen you'
e you’
e h
ving us
o
k on you
c
se, you get the benefit of th
t expe
ience.
e knohich ones e going to t
ke
bit longend
e c
n
nticip
te th
t
nd in stt ce
t
in pts of the p
ocess pe
h
ps soone
th
n someone
ho
ould not be
nticip
ting those things
ould.
shley
od
iguez : 14:34
ll
ight B

ntley. So is the
e
nything else you think th
t
e
e
lly need to kno

bout p
e litig
tion,

B

ntley S
sseen : 14:39 not specific
lly
bout p
e litig
tion? I think
question th
t I often get is
hy pe
son
l inju
y
nd I think you hinted
t th
t
little bit elie
. I think th
t oftentimes pe
son
l inju
y, especi
lly pl
intiff’s
tto
neys, de
ling
ith pe
son
l inju
y, get
bit of
b
d

p,
ight.
e’
e the
mbul
nce ch
se
s. Th
t’s
h
t eve
ybody kno
s. Th
t's
h
t eve
ybody thinks th
t
e’
e only out fo
the money. The t
uth of the m
tte
is th
t pe
son
l inju
y is funnily enough ve
y pe
son
l to me.
hen I s
junio
in high school b
ck in the 90s, my g

ndf
the
s
ctu
lly killed by
d
ive

ho

s unde
the influence.
nd I c
n just
emembe
the, honestly, the to
ment th
t th
t inflicted upon upon ou
f
mily
t the time, it's, you kno
, so unexpected, the shock of it,
nd then, you kno
, h
ving to f
ce the
e
lity
fte
the f
ct.
nd so I h
ve pe
son
lly lived th
t I’ve seen
h
t th
t expe
ience is like,
nd I kno
th
t n
vig
ting th
t
nd t
ying to think
bout, honestly de
ling
ith
n insu

nce comp
ny
nd de
ling
ith cl
ims
nd th
t side of things is the l
st thing th
t you
e
lly nt to think
bout. You ce
t
inly

nt justice you ce
t
inly

nt fo
the pe
son
ho's c
used th
t situ
tion to be
esponsible, he'd be held
esponsible. But the the int
ic
cies of it
nd n
vig
ting some of the mo
e
dministtive side is just,
g
in, it's the l
st thing
e
lly th
t's going to be on you
mind.
nd
hile I h
te th
t p

t of ou
job th
t
e e often meeting
nd de
ling
ith people in sometimes the
o
st situ
tions th
t

e eve
going to h
ve in thei
life, I'm h
ppy th
t
e c
n help
llevi
te some of th
t bu
den th
t they othe

ise might h
ve.
nd then so in th
t sense, it it's
ve
y pe
son
l thing to me.
nd I’m h
ppy
hen
e'
e
ble to m
ke th
t pt of the p
ocess o
m
ke th
t pt of someone's life
t le
st
little bit e
sie
.
shley
od
iguez : 16:39 Ye
h.
nd I think th
t it helps th
t you c
n h
ve th
t pe
son
l connection
ith them bec
use you unde
st
nd
h
t they’
e feeling t
uly bec
use you've been the
e.

B

ntley S
sseen : 16:46 Ce
t
inly.
shley
od
iguez : 16:47
ll
ight.
ell, th
nk you fo
joining us tod
y.

B

ntley S
sseen : 16:51
bsolutely. enjoyed it.
shley
od
iguez : 16:53
nd st
y tuned fo
ou
next episode
bout the litig
tion p
ocess.

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