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When Settlement Is the Best Option

BY Ronald J. Levine
April 27, 2012

For many product liability defense attorneys, the last time they considered the significance of basic psychological principles was their Psychology 101 course in college. Most lawyers, unfortunately, do not appreciate the importance of adapting and applying those basic psychological concepts to their day-to-day practices. For example, if defense lawyers took the time to study the behavioral patterns of their clients closely ' from the date of filing the lawsuit to its ultimate resolution ' they would find that in almost every instance their clients' reaction to a lawsuit, from beginning to end, follows a very specific and predictable pattern.

An analysis of these patterns reveals that they substantially mirror those explored in depth by Elisabeth Kbler-Ross in her landmark 1969 book, On Death and Dying. In that book, Ms. Kbler-Ross introduced the Five Stages of Grief. The five stages are known by the acronym DABDA ' Denial; Anger; Bargaining; Depression; and finally, Acceptance. The five stages describe the process by which individuals cope with grief and tragedy. Breaking the grieving process down into these stages provides an individual with the framework to understand his or her mental state, and eventually emerge from the process with at least a bit of self-awareness.

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