Statistics on Personal Injury Pre-trial Settlements

Only about five percent of personal injuries cases in the U.S. go to trial, meaning that up to 95% of such cases are given out of court settlements. Of these (cases that go to trial), 90 percent end up losing, meaning that the plaintiff loses out on compensation. Those who win cases that go to trial only do so when the case is brought before a trial judge rather than a jury. Trial judges also seem to provide higher compensation than a jury.

One of the reasons why many cases are settled out of court is because of the length of time such cases take before being settled. On the same note, lawyers also have to negotiate settlement amounts. Most of the people who choose to settle their cases do so because of being impatience considering the time lag often involved. The media has time and again lied to the US population that negotiations do occur rather quickly and that a trial often results in the plaintiff taking home big money. Well, this is often not the case.

Executing a personal injury claim is a chain that involves a lot of activities. From the day the case is filed to the day the compensation is paid, there is a lot of activity that happens in between. It is more or less the same as a criminal case with the only difference being that the resources at play are those of the attorney involved. They usually do not have a team of officers investigating the injury; they always assign this task to one person who investigates the case.

From injuries and the accident itself to circumstances surrounding the accident and witnesses, these are some of the aspects of the case that need thorough investigation. This part of the case is known as discovery and involves taking dispositions where out-of-court interviews are taken. At minimum, this phase takes six months to accomplish. While this is happening, the personal injury attorney of the injured person embarks on calculating the value of the injury and how much his or her client should receive in compensation. The lawyer calculates the amount of work time the injured lost, the cost of medication, and the emotional and physical pain they went through as a result of the injury.

It might take some time for the full extent of the injury to be revealed. In this respect, you should not be in a hurry to settle the case only to find out later on that your injuries are actually worse than thought. Entering arbitration would be a good move than settling the case immediately.

Considering all these factors, it is clear that getting legal representation from a qualified personal injury lawyer in Alabama is the best course of action. An attorney will not only ensure that you are fairly compensated, but also that you receive proper medical care.

Source: http://thelawdictionary.org/article/pre-trial-settlement-percentage-statistics-on-personal-injury-settlements/