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When dealing with a personal injury claim, it is difficult for people
involved in the case to decide whether or not to settle or go to court.
There are plenty of advantages and disadvantages when it comes to
deciding whether or not to settle a personal injury claim or go to court
for a personal injury claim. When consulting with a personal injury
lawyer, he or she will be able to review the claim and advise whether
or not the case should be settled out of court or should take the next
step and go to trial.
A couple of reasons why a personal injury claim will wind up going to
court include the fact that alternative solutions have failed such as
mediation and arbitration. Mediation is the process of settling a
disagreement outside of court with a non biased third party. Both sides
will tell their side of the story and the mediator will help them come
to a mutual agreement. Arbitration also involves a non biased third
party that will hear both sides of the story but the difference is that
the arbiter will make the decision as to who wins the case.
Advantages of Going to Court
The advantages of going to court include receiving a bigger award, the
ability to explain and document what happened, and the chance to appeal
the decision if one side loses. These are really the only three
advantages of going to court when it comes to a personal injury claim.
Advantages of Settling a Claim
The advantages of settling a claim include a lower price tag than going
to court, going to court takes much more time than deciding upon a
settlement, going to court can be intimidating when sitting in front of
a judge or a jury and people must appear in court once the dates are
set. No excuses can be made for missing a court date as in having to
work or having a prior commitment to attend.
Important Considerations
One thing to consider when determining whether or not to settle out of
court or to go to court in a personal injury case is how quickly the
victim wants to get their life back to normal. Spending time in court
and in the lawyer’s office will add more stress to an already stressful
situation such as filing a personal injury claim. If the victim wants
his or her life to return to normal as quickly as possible than settling
the claim out of court will be the best option. Settling a personal
injury claim out of court doesn’t always result in the highest winnings
for a victim because the insurance company of the defendant will not
offer a reasonable and fair settlement unless the case actually goes to
trial. If the case does go to trial the victim should have hired an
experienced attorney that has a proven track record of success in
winning personal injury cases