Thoughts on stipulating to negligence from a plaintiff’s perspective? At first I thought it was a good idea because it obviously saves time and money and saves you from the possibility of your client receiving nothing. I practice in a contributory negligence state and my client wasn’t rear-ended she was side swiped while at a complete stop. Negligence is still fairly clear but I can envision a reality where a jury disagrees....

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Continued: on the other side stipulating keeps all of the “bad facts” out about the defendant and makes a jury less likely to want to punish the defendant. The case is not worth too much and will likely get settled but I’m hoping that refusing to stipulate will put more pressure on defense counsel to raise their offer and will make the insurance company keep having to pay for depositions, etc which will cause them to pressure the defense attorney to settle higher.

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Our jurisdiction allows you to discuss the cause of the accident/how it happened even when stipulating to liability. It’s just that the issue doesn’t go to the jury. Look for case law where you practice.

If you’re looking to have the jury punish Defendant and you’re in CA just know that what you’re seeking to do is improper and it has a name, Reptile Tactic.

Also, just because you won’t stip to negligence doesn’t mean that Defense Counsel won’t stand up during opening and day to the jury “We accept the fact that my client was negligent...”. The wind will be out of your sails. You’ll have spent a crap ton of money proving something that was conceded all along and for what? You’re not going to get any more money.

Who are you doing this for, you or your client? Your client purportedly needs the money for their care and for general damages. If your client was truly hurt then let the facts of the injuries dictate the damages award, retain a good doc, maybe a life care planner (if really serious) and let the chips fall where they may, but trying to punish the Defendant when they’ve conceded negligence is just plain stupid.

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This person is clearly a defense attorney.

Defense counsel who is older than me and has been practicing for a while longer is flabbergasted that we haven’t stipulated yet and is trying to lecture me about why it’s a smart decision for me.

It could also preclude punitives.

First, I’d ask if they’re admitting negligence why they aren’t making a good faith offer on behalf of their client. If bad faith is available, you can set them up. Is this Allstate or local minimum policy racket?

Also, did they admit negligence in their answer? How early is it in the case? Have you asserted a claim for punitive damages? Have they asserted any affirmative defenses? Has PD been resolved? What does the treatment look like? Can you use it as a bargaining tool to get OC to stipulate to things you want? What is OC’s reason for not settling? Is there a bad fact he wants to keep out? I don’t know enough to make a suggestion.

In a case where the crash isn’t horrible, it could be a good tactic to tell the jury that the defendant thinks he can say he’s sorry and walk away while my client deals with the aftermath. Personally, spending money on liability experts in a low speed read-ender where liability is admitted and treatment is minimal is silly and may be hard to justify to your client. However if a semi ran a red light or the AFD was drunk you might want to still tell the negligence story. As another poster pointed out, stipulating to negligence won’t keep the full story of how the crash occurred out. If OC is arguing causation of injuries, the facts of the collision are certainly relevant.

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