Author name: Tom Feher, Esq.

First offers often land at 25-50% of final value. How California injury settlement negotiation really works and when to reject a lowball offer.

Most California injury clients keep 45 to 60% of their settlement. See real line-item math from $50K to $20.7M, contingency fees, and lien rules.

Tom Feher’s Perspective Rotator cuff cases turn on one question: was the tear traumatic or degenerative? Insurers answer it from an MRI report written for treatment, not litigation. We answer it with the treating surgeon, the mechanism of injury, and the absence of prior shoulder complaints. Win that question and a $40,000 offer becomes a

Tom Feher’s Perspective Crush cases are the ones that taught me to distrust first impressions of an injury. Tissue that looks saved in week one dies in week three; a limb that survives still loses function to nerve death and compartment syndrome. We never value a crush case early. We wait for the medicine to

Tom Feher’s Perspective Internal injuries are the cases where the ER record is the whole ballgame. A lacerated spleen or liver either shows up on the CT that night or gets blamed on something else later. If you were in a serious crash, the single most important thing you can do for your health and

Tom Feher’s Perspective Hip cases carry two stories: a younger worker whose fractured pelvis changes what jobs are possible, and an older client whose hip fracture becomes the event their whole health turns on. Juries understand both instinctively. Insurers do not, until the life care plan is on the table. In the hip cases we

Tom Feher’s Perspective Wrist cases are deceptive. The bills look small next to a back surgery, but hands are how people earn a living and live their lives. When a wrist fracture heals with hardware, stiffness, or nerve symptoms, the daily-life evidence is what moves the number. We photograph, document, and prove what a client

Tom Feher’s Perspective Shoulder injuries get lowballed because adjusters treat them as soft tissue until there is an MRI. In the cases we litigate, the moment imaging shows a labrum or cuff tear that needs surgery, the case value moves by six figures. If your shoulder still hurts weeks after the crash, get the MRI

Tom Feher’s Perspective Vision cases are among the most undervalued injuries we see. Insurance adjusters price an eye like a broken bone, but losing sight in one eye changes driving, work, depth perception, and independence forever. In the cases we litigate, the gap between the first offer and the real value of permanent vision loss

Tom Feher’s Perspective Cases against cities, counties, and transit agencies are the ones we most often see lost before they start. Not because the injury was minor, but because the six month claim deadline passed while the victim was still recovering. In our practice, the single most valuable thing we do on these cases is