What is a Case Evaluation?
Case evaluation as a process provides insights into the worth and likelihood of success of a particular lawsuit. The underlying rationale behind case evaluation is to prevent lawsuits lacking in substance from being unnecessarily pursued. The nature and extent of case evaluation in regard to certain types of lawsuits has evolved over time.
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History
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Case evaluation as an independent process is of fairly recent origin. Historically, case evaluation essentially was a function undertaken by a plaintiff's attorney. Although theoretically in the best interests of both plaintiff's counsel and the individual (or entity) pursuing the lawsuit in the first instance, objective case evaluation at times proved elusive. Frivolous lawsuits filed with regularity has become something of a cliché. There has been a movement toward independent case evaluation in an attempt to lend more objectivity to the process of examining the worth of a case and the prospects a party will prevail.
Significance
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Objectified case evaluation can play a significant and affirmative role in the judicial system. The backlog of civil cases pending in state and federal courts has reached record levels. Through the process of objective case evaluation, those lawsuits that have no significant chance of success can effectively be weeded out, leaving more time and resources for those cases that do have merit. An aggrieved individual (or entity) that might have initially believed pursuing legal action was a wise course can have a better appreciation of the realities of a particular case and will not be left with fanciful hopes of potential success.
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Misconceptions
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A variety of misconceptions are associated with the concept and practice of case evaluation. Chief amongst these misconceptions is that objective analysis of the value or worth of a case, and the likelihood for success, is impossible. By the very nature of the judicial system, there are real, verifiable and objective markers---based on prior court rulings and application of relevant law---that can allow for an accurate analysis of a particular lawsuit.
Institutionalization
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Concerned with the torrent of unresolved lawsuits clogging many court courts, in some jurisdictions institutionalized case evaluation has been put into place. An independent panel of attorneys will be convened to consider a particular case as part of the formal judicial process. The panel will make recommendations to the parties, with a report to the court, about the overall merits of the underlying case. This type of system is becoming widely utilized in the realm of medical malpractice cases.
Effects
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There are a number of beneficial effects of objective as well as institutionalized case evaluation. These include the elimination of more frivolous or less meritorious lawsuits, the lessening of judicial backlogs and providing litigants more realistic expectations of their case and an increase in the number of cases settled without the need for trial. Most legal experts agree that formalized and institutionalized case evaluation will be more widely used into the future.
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