Why Do Most Personal Injury Cases Settle?

If you were recently injured and considering filing a personal injury case, you may be wondering if personal injury lawsuits always settle, therefore guaranteeing you at least some damages in a payout.

Most personal injury lawsuits indeed settle before going to trial, especially when filed against an insurance company or other large company.

Why Do Most Personal Injury Cases Settle?

Most personal injury lawsuits that are filed settle, which can be good news for the person suing. Here are a few reasons personal injury cases settle:

1. Settlements help reduce the risk for both parties: Regardless if you’re the person suing or the defendant, by reaching a settlement agreement, it helps reduce the risk that a trial brings. If you’re the injured party, you could go to court, and a jury could award you nothing. At the same time, the defendant is worried that, after a trial, the jury will award the plaintiff a large sum of money.
2. Defendants want to keep their name out of the spotlight: Often, if the defendants see they have some fault in the incident, they’ll agree to a settlement because it avoids a lengthy trial and keeps the incident quiet. A trial, or its outcome, could be covered by the media, and defendants want to avoid such bad press.
3. It avoids a long trial: After an injury, the plaintiff wants to heal, pay their bills, and move on. The defendant wants to minimize manpower spent on a personal injury trial. Trials can drag on, and appeals will make the process last even longer. Agreeing to a settlement wraps up the case, allowing everyone to move on.

What Else Should I Be Aware Of In Personal Injury Cases?

If you’ve suffered a personal injury, the first thing you need to do is recover and seek proper treatment.

It is important to know that in the state of Pennsylvania, there is a statute of limitations on how long you have to file your suit. In most cases, you must file your suit in civil court within two years of the date of the injury, or your case can be thrown out before being heard.

Because of the complex nature of most personal injury lawsuits, you must hire an experienced lawyer to handle your case. Depending on the situation and specific circumstances, an attorney you hire can review your claim and medical records, then go to the defendant and negotiate a settlement without ever officially filing a lawsuit. This is especially true if the injury was not permanent or severe.

If the negotiations do not work, then your lawyer will file an official suit. Then, discovery starts. This is the process that each side investigates the claims and possible defense arguments. Next, the case will either go to mediation and negotiation or trial. If your case does go to trial, sometimes a settlement will be reached at this point, as both sides might be worried about how a jury would perceive the case.

How Much Will My Personal Injury Case Settle For?

As the plaintiff, your goal is to have any settlement cover any medical bills, lost wages, and perhaps even emotional distress or other damages. On the other side of the case, the defendant likely also has a range they feel they may lose if this case goes to court. A personal injury attorney’s goal is to get you, the plaintiff, the higher end of the range the defendant has in mind to cover all your costs and any damages in a settlement.

How Do I Get The Largest Amount Of Damages For My Personal Injury Case?

Although most personal injury lawsuits wind up settling, you must pick a law firm like Ross Feller Casey with a proven record of treating every case as it if was going to trial. Many lawyers take cases intending to settle them quickly, often for much less than if the case went before a jury.

At Ross Feller Casey, we have a national reputation for winning record-setting, multimillion-dollar recoveries for our clients in all types of personal injury cases. We do settle many of our cases, but only when it is in the best interest of the clients. We handle all our cases on a contingency basis, which means you don’t pay unless we win.