A majority of personal injury claims tend to settle prior to making it to trial. It can be said that most court cases reach an out-of-court resolution. When it comes to personal injury cases, these tend to settle before trial. Some even settle before an injury lawsuit is filed.
Does the trial involve risks?
In most cases, personal injury claimants end up losing a good deal of money because of their injuries. There are medical bills to cover. In some cases, it leads to lost wages too. Due to these massive losses, most plaintiffs tend to accept a settlement just to get the bills covered and come out of debt. Sadly, insurance companies do not offer a deserving settlement in the first go. Thus, many claimants end up taking the settlement over a court trial.
Most of the insurance companies wish to settle personal injury claims for avoiding the risk of opting for trial and getting slammed by a verdict that leads to losses. This type of verdict is often referred to as a “runaway” verdict. These verdicts take place in cases with severe damages. Most insurers want to do away with unpredictability. They try their best to convince the judge or an appellate court to get a runaway verdict overturned. They are successful in their efforts, most times. However, certain times, the insurer might end up having to pay out a million dollars to get all the injuries covered.
There is another reason why most Florida personal injury cases settle is that no lawyer can predict the outcome of a specific injury case that is the settlement amount. After all, personal injury cases are highly unpredictable.
A genuine South Florida Personal Injury Lawyer would come up with a certain range of probable settlements. After proper evaluation, they would come up with a range for the settlement amount. The insurance defense attorney might tell the plaintiff’s lawyer that he might just lose the case if it goes to trial and so he should accept the settlement offer. If both sides agree to reach a common settlement amount, the case is likely to settle.
It has to be kept in mind that all personal injury cases are unique. However, the basic pattern in personal injury claim negotiations is that when the demand plus offer lies within the range of the other side, the case is likely to settle before trial.
What is the victim required to prove in Court?
The victim needs to prove that he/she is innocent. Plus, he/she needs to prove that the third party has caused the injuries. The complainant needs to prove that the defendant owed a certain legal duty of care to the individual who suffers from injuries under the circumstances. Also, he/she is required to prove that the defendant has failed to meet legal duty by doing some act which led to the victim getting injured in some manner.
If you are a victim in a car accident that occurred because of the negligence of the third party, then you would have to prove that the defendant caused the same. You can go ahead and file for a settlement or compensation.
Damages involved in a personal injury case
When you are injured in a certain accident, you need to file a lawsuit for compensation. You are likely to be entitled to financial compensation for your set of injuries. A certain amount of money is awarded for your pain plus injuries. This is known as damages. According to the law, the defendant is responsible for making payment of certain damages to the plaintiff or the person who is injured provided that the defendant is found guilty.
The most prominent types of damages are categorized as compensatory damages. These damages are paid to compensate a person for loss, damages or injury that was incurred from the carelessness of the third party. When it comes to personal injury, damages are usually awarded if there was a certain breach of wrong civil action. The injured person gets compensation on the basis of the position of the damages.
However, when it comes to personal injury damages, it is usually divided into two major categories. These are general damages and special damages. As far as general damages are concerned, the injured party is usually compensated for their injuries by certain monetary aspects. General damages might be inclusive of physical pain, emotional suffering, disfigurement or mental or physical impairment.
You are required to prove that these damages took place as a result of the injury and that no pre-existing conditions caused these. Only then you would be entitled to get compensation. As far as special damages are concerned, the victim is compensated for the monetary losses that are suffered due to an injury caused by the third party. In general, monetary compensation can be awarded for multiple numbers of reasons. Certain common reasons include lost earnings, repairing or replacing property, compensating for certain irreplaceable items and covering additional costs related to the injury.
When it comes to repairing or replacing property and getting compensation for any irreplaceable items, you need to prove that your property was damaged in the accident or event that was caused by another individual or group of individuals. Else, you might not be allowed to ask for compensation!
Trial period
In the trial period, the judge is required to look into the evidence and witness. Then, he needs to decide as to who is legally responsible for the injuries sustained by the victim. It is then that the victim will be given a chance to get the case presented. The defendant can also try to refute the personal injury case. The defendant can go ahead and submit the set of proofs associated with the case to prove his/her innocence.
Once both party’s arguments are heard, the judge determines who is guilty. He/she would then inform the amount of money or compensation a defendant needs to pay.
On average, a personal injury lawsuit takes two to three years to get settled, if it is of serious nature.
