Personal injury cases can be complicated, but the law doesn’t have to be. A personal injury lawsuit is a civil lawsuit that centers on one person suing another because of an accident or injury. The most common type of personal injury cases are car accidents, but there are also many other types, including slip-and-fall injuries and medical malpractice lawsuits. Personal injury cases usually involve two parties: the plaintiff (the injured person) and the defendant (the person who caused the injury and related medical expenses). These two people may negotiate with each other to come up with an agreement outside of court, or they may decide to go through trial instead. In each instance, both parties are likely to have legal representation in the form of a personal injury lawyer.
Below, we’ve outlined some reasons why your attorney might want to take your case to trial instead of settling out of court for your accident and personal injury:
Obvious plug: do you have a quality lawyer?
If you’re injured in a car accident or a work accident, the facts surrounding your accident may be complicated by the injuries and losses sustained, including but not limited to medical bills, loss of income, loss of self-care, mental anguish and/or PTSD that follows accidents, and a lack of overall information needed to move forward.
Situations such as these place added pressure on victims of personal injury or damage to either settle or fight to the end. These sustained injuries or overarching inability to work may make it difficult to pursue financial compensation from the negligent party. However, fighting back is recommended, as the law will ensure that the responsible party will pay for your injuries, personal injury car repair costs, increased auto insurance rates (if this is a DUI personal injury offense for the defendant or other various crimes), medical bills, and other damages. The duty of your lawyer will ensure you receive proper care and allow you to simply focus on your health while they find evidence to prove the other party made negligent decisions that caused your injuries.
A lawyer can help victims of accidents and other malpractice receive not only the legal help that they need but also the care necessary to make the right decisions down the line. An experienced lawyer ensures you can continue to make good decisions throughout the entirety of your personal injury claim and helps ensure the law is on your side. Further, they ensure that you have the best quality of life possible during a time when you just want to move on with your life. A lawyer ensures you can do exactly that, as quickly as possible.
Following an accident, the defendant and the plaintiff can’t agree on a settlement or the injuries sustained.
Following accidents, for reasons such as these and many more (such as not agreeing to who caused the accident), the legal process for a personal injury settlement can be held up. Perhaps the defendant doesn’t believe they caused your injury. Sometimes the defendant will go even further and suggest the plaintiff’s injuries are false information and that the plaintiff’s entire personal injury claim is a personal attack.
Of course, the settlement may play out much easier, and there may be peaceful negotiations between both parties. However, following accidents where such a breakdown occurs, an experienced personal injury attorney is recommended to ensure your personal injury is compensated fairly. They will bring you up to speed on your accident and how it’s covered under personal injury law. They’ll also ensure you’re organized through each step. There are deadlines that, if missed, will bar a victim from collecting on their personal injury. Therefore, there are forms of personal injury that professionals are aware of. They will not only show you how to fill out these personal injury forms but also understand the legal process on a deeper level.
When two parties cannot agree on the terms of a settlement following an accident, the injury case goes to trial. Trials are often held in front of a jury of 12 people selected from a pool that includes everyone eligible to serve on juries in your state or county. Before you can start the trial process, however, you or your attorney must file what’s called an “offer of proof,” which is essentially a list of all the evidence you wish to present at trial and how it relates to your case of personal injury. The defense will then do the same thing: they’ll submit an offer of proof showing which pieces of evidence they believe would support their side of the accident.
Once both parties have submitted their offers of proof, the judge will decide which pieces of evidence can be admitted. If a piece of evidence is deemed inadmissible by the court, it cannot be used at trial; if it’s admitted, then both sides can use it to make their case. Following accidents, the judge will also decide which witnesses can be called to testify. If the judge decides that certain evidence (such as personal injuries) or witnesses are inadmissible, then he’ll tell both parties so, and they can decide whether or not they want to appeal that decision.
Does the trial site favor plaintiffs?
Location is a factor in selecting a trial venue for a personal injury claim. Some jurisdictions have a reputation for favoring plaintiffs, while others are more pro-defendant following an accident.
If you are the plaintiff in a personal injury case, you may want to avoid a location that is known to favor defendants because this could make it harder for your claim to be heard by an impartial jury that believes you deserve compensation for your personal injury damages. On the other hand, if you’re representing yourself as a defendant (and therefore not eligible for legal aid), being tried in such a venue may mean higher odds of getting an acquittal or reduction in damages awarded against you.
If you’re a juror or witness for such accidents, the reputation of the court where your case is being heard could influence how you view it. Jurors may be more likely to convict if they believe that the judge and jury in similar accidents were biased against the defendant. Witnesses who testify against someone they know will also be more likely to lie if they know that person was acquitted in a similar accident.
Your attorney wants to get publicity for your personal injury case, or they want to center your case around a serious accident injury.
One thing you should know about personal injury attorneys is that they understand the value of publicity and attention. They might not admit it, but if you’ve ever watched TV and seen ads for lawyers and law firms, you know what I mean. The more publicity personal injury claims get following accidents, the more likely it is that people will hear about them—and that more people will be interested in helping with such personal injury claims. There are all kinds of reasons why this could happen: maybe there are other victims with similar accident injuries who need legal representation; maybe the media will help spread awareness about how dangerous a certain type of product can be (like cell phones or car seats); maybe someone else has been injured by the same person or business before and would want to help out; maybe people will want to donate money when they hear what happened to someone like them!
A related benefit is that once an attorney starts getting some good press, he or she may become better known among other attorneys, who might recommend him or her for other cases in the future. Finally, personal injury lawyers need to be able to work with the media. They’re going to have to talk about your case in public, and if they aren’t good speakers or don’t know how to give interviews, then it could hurt your chances of winning. Certain accidents and situations are delicate and need someone charismatic to earn empathy and awareness. The combination of legal insight and the ability to relate to others can nearly guarantee victory.
Is there a lot of money at stake with your personal injury lawsuit?
In a personal injury case, there may be a lot of money at stake. Money is a big motivator for people, and if you want to get compensation for your injuries, you need to be able to prove that you are entitled to it. The amount of money at stake will depend on the nature of your case—for example, whether you have suffered any permanent damage as well as how much medical treatment has been necessary so far. Sometimes, when so much is at stake, hitting a courtroom is an inevitability.
Some personal injury claims are held up when the defendant refuses to pay or when they seek punitive damages.
In some cases, a plaintiff will request that punitive damages be awarded to the defendant. This is known as a “punitive damage claim.” Punitive damages are not usually awarded in all cases, no matter what type of case it is. In most states, punitive damage claims are not allowed in personal injury cases involving accidental injuries or wrongful death.
However, in some states, punitive damage claims are allowed in personal injury cases. In these states, punitive damages are awarded to punish the defendant for their wrongful conduct and to deter others from engaging in similar conduct. The purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate the plaintiff for their injuries, but rather to punish the defendant and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. As such, a jury may award punitive damages only if they find that the defendant acted with malice, fraud, or oppression. Punitive damages are generally awarded in addition to actual damages (such as medical expenses).
Your personal injury attorney will go over all your options with you and make sure you are informed before making a decision.
Before deciding whether to go to trial, you must have an attorney who can explain all your options to you. They’ll answer any questions you have about the case and help ensure that you understand what’s involved in each option. If it comes down to a choice between going to trial or settling out of court, your attorney will explain the pros and cons of each choice so that you come away from the conversation feeling confident about your decision.
In some cases, settling may make more sense than going through a long process of preparing for trial, but in others, going to trial may be worth it because of how high the stakes are. No one other than your attorney (and perhaps their paralegal) can know exactly how much time they’ll need to spend preparing for a case like yours, so only they can make this call based on their knowledge of similar cases they’ve worked on before. In general, though,
- Settling means giving up some money right now; going forward means risking losing even more money if things don’t go well at trial (if either side wins).
- Settling means accepting whatever offer is on the table now; going forward means having leverage over whoever else might want something from later down the line.
A personal injury lawyer is recommended for personal injury cases to ensure you understand personal injury law and receive maximum compensation.
Remember, your attorney is there to help you make decisions about your case and the best way to proceed. They will guide you through this process and give their opinion on what they think would be most effective for getting compensation for your injuries. You can trust them with all the details of your situation since they’re highly knowledgeable about personal injury law and have years of experience handling cases just like yours.
If you’ve been injured in an accident and require compensation, we can help. Contact us here for a free consultation. Remember, we operate on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we win!
