When Your Personal Injury Attorney Does Not Settle Your Case

A personal injury attorney is a legal professional whom you should hire if you become injured as a result of the negligence or wrongdoing of another party. Most personal injury cases settle before they ever end up in trial. This generally signals a happy and positive outcome for the claimant because they receive the compensation they are seeking and do not have to contend with the financial burden and the time element involved in a civil trial.

Your personal injury attorney will review your case carefully and will gather all of the facts. He will then start investigating and finding witnesses to corroborate your story and those that can attest to the fact that it was not you who was at fault for the accident that took place.

If your case does proceed to a trial then the up side to this is that a successful verdict can mean that the amount of money you are awarded is greater than what you would get in a settlement. That is only if you win though. If you lose, you could be left with nothing. That is the gamble that you take if your personal injury attorney advises you that taking your claim to court is a better option than settling out of court. You have to consider that you could lose and if you did, what you would then do from there? When you have medical bills to pay as a result of the injury you sustained, this can seem like a very real gamble.

There are cases, however, where a trial may be the required option in order for the plaintiff who is the injured party, to get a sufficient amount of compensation to help them get their life back on track. This is something that you need to discuss with your personal injury attorney. An accomplished lawyer who has dealt with plenty of cases like yours before will be able to advise you about which direction is most appropriate for your particular legal set of circumstances.

You may wonder why some cases of a personal injury nature (albeit a small proportion of them) go to trial while others never see the inside of a courtroom and settle nicely and easily out of court?

If both parties on either side do not value the case in the same manner then this can lead to conflicts and issues that make a settlement impossible. Your personal injury attorney must do his best to reach a settlement with the attorney for the defendant. If this does not work, then a trial date will need to be set.

A trial may be necessary and a settlement out of the question if one individual becomes too personally immersed in the case. If one person is very stubborn about getting what they want and digs in their heels about the issues, then going to trial may be the only civil means of coming up with a resolution that can satisfy them — even if it means that the outcome does not turn in their favor.

When expectations are misguided or misconstrued this can cause problems. The other party's insurance company is not willing to settle a claim for a larger amount than the going rate. For that reason, the client that wants as much as possible may have no choice but to take the claim to court and allow the judge to make the final decision.