Understanding the difference between a settlement and a trial can help you determine which route may be best for your particular claim. A settlement refers to resolving a claim through the insurance claims process alone. A settlement is an amount of money an insurance provider offers to resolve a dispute with a claimant.
An insurance settlement means you, the accident victim, agree not to take the case to court in exchange for a fair sum from the insurance company for your losses. You have the right to negotiate a settlement offer with an insurance company until you both agree on a fair sum.
A personal injury trial is the next step you may take if settlement negotiations do not work. If your negotiations with the insurance company still fail to result in an amount you or your lawyer believe is fair to make up for your losses, you can take your case to trial.
Both parties will present their cases before the judge or jury, then wait for the final verdict. You may need to take your case directly to trial if the insurance company denies your claim from the start.
Most personal injury claimants prefer settlements over trials. Settlements are faster and cheaper than going to court with a case.
However, settlements are not always possible — nor are they always the best option for the client depending on the case. A Fairfax personal injury attorney can help you figure out which route is most appropriate according to your injuries, needs and goals.
An insurance settlement will generally yield compensation for lost wages, medical bills and property repairs. With a successful trial, on the other hand, you could also receive compensation for pain and suffering, legal fees, punitive damages and more.
This is a claim. There is no lawsuit at the time. You may make a claim informally with the person who caused your injuries. Or, more likely, you will make a claim with their car, property, or other relevant insurance coverage to request damages. For example, assume your next-door neighbor Tom calls you to see if you can come over and help him move a picnic table off his deck. You each lift an end of the picnic table and carry it off the deck down some stairs.
You slip on the slippery stairs, drop the picnic table, and it lands on your ankle and breaks it. You ask Tom for reimbursement of the medical expenses of treating your broken ankle. Most of the time, a personal injury claim like your broken ankle can be resolved without going to court. But even trials that only last a few hours need an extraordinary amount of preparation by the attornies. There are several reasons you should want to settle before court, but there are also reasons you shouldn't.
We'll take a look at some of the pros and cons now. As we've said before, it is very common for personal injury claims to settle long before ever making it to trial.
Each case is unique, and while most are fine to be settled before going to trial, some will benefit from the court system. There are several ways someone could benefit from taking their personal injury lawsuit to court. Here are a few pros and cons of taking your trial to court. Sometimes it makes sense to go to trial, especially if your lawyer thinks you have a valuable case and the insurance company isn't giving you a reasonable settlement offer.
You never have to settle for less than you think your case is worth. Although risky and time-consuming, you can always take your case to trial to get what the insurance company won't offer. So, if you were involved in a slip and fall accident, your lawyer will review the incident report, obtain any videos of the injury as well as witness testimony, and gather your medical bills and get a statement from your doctors. Your lawyers will document everything and make a demand to the insurance company, starting the negotiation process.
Depending on how much your claim is worth and how strong your evidence is, a reasonable offer could be made in just a few weeks. But, the time it takes to settle can vary significantly with every case, so putting a timetable on how long it could take for you to receive a check would be nothing more than an educated guess.
The main reason people don't go to trial is that they are afraid of the time it will take to settle. And if you've suffered severe injuries that require extensive medical care, you're going to need money to cover your medical expenses, especially if you're out of work.
Fortunately, many trials can work their way through the legal system fairly quickly, especially with the help of an experienced attorney.
But there's always a chance that the defendant and their lawyers will try to drag out the process as long as possible. If your case is pretty straightforward, and your evidence is solid, your case may only take a few months. But if you are looking for a certain amount of money, or it's a little harder to prove negligence in your case, the trial could drag on for a year or even longer than that.
When you look for an attorney to represent you, you need to find an attorney that isn't afraid to go to court if necessary. You want to find an attorney with experience, but you don't want an attorney who will rush you to trial just to rack up their attorney fees.
Is the percentage of cases they settle within the national average? If so, you can continue discussions with them. If it isn't, it's best to move on to the next attorney. See more ».
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