def get_value(string):
    """
    Returns only the numeric value from a cif item like 1.234(4).

    :parameters
        ** string **
            A cif value as string
    :returns
        The value without error. (`float`)
    """
    if "(" in string:
        vval = string.split("(")[0]
        if vval == '':
            vval = '0.0'
        return float(vval)
    else:
        try:
            return float(string)
        except ValueError:
            return 0.0