The large majority of personal injury claims in the United States are resolved outside the courtroom. Approximately 95% of all injury settlement negotiations are resolved in out-of-court arrangements.
That may seem like a high number until you realize that settlements are usually the fastest, easiest, and fairest way to make arrangements that are acceptable to everyone. A settlement arrangement can benefit you significantly, as long as it’s handled correctly.
Everything depends on the negotiation process. To receive the best possible deal from negotiations, you’ll need a qualified national personal injury law firm who has savvy negotiation skills.
Ways In Which a Settlement Can Work to Your Advantage
Think of a settlement as a device you and your lawyer can use to allow both sides to compromise a little, while still leaving with a reasonable settlement. You may not receive the maximum amount you wanted, but you’ll receive a far better deal than if you ‘d managed it alone or if you ‘d just given up.
In most cases, a settlement can take care of your major costs associated with the injury, your legal fees, and also some of the intangible losses you experienced. But the value of your settlement deal depends partly on the negotiation skill of your lawyer and what kinds of losses you can prove through evidence.
Usually, injured individuals get greater compensation in pre-trial settlements than is normal for cases that go to trial. Injured people regularly lose in court– as much as 90% of the time, according to government statistics. So as you can see, negotiating a settlement could be your best bet.
Why Settlements Benefit Injured Individuals
When both sides are negotiating toward a settlement, both sides are motivated to introduce options that the other side will consider. Both sides want to avoid the uncertainty of a trial.
This encourages a feeling of fairness. Each side has an opportunity to examine the other’s latest offer and determine how to move forward from there.
Another reason settlements often help injured individuals is that they generally involve professionals like insurance agents and attorneys. They have extensive experience and plenty of resources at their disposal to resolve things quickly.
An experienced injury lawyer can place a value on an injury case that’s easily supported by evidence. This has the result of minimizing the amount of negotiation that has to occur. The insurance provider or other party will see that it’s a fair offer.
Settlements Typically Happen Quickly and Affordably
A settlement usually proceeds faster than a court trial. It’s common for a personal injury claim that goes to trial to take many months or even years to be resolved. The defendant’s insurer is seldom motivated to speed up things once they reach trial.
Meanwhile, a pre-trial settlement in an injury accident claim can usually be successfully negotiated and completed with the insurance company in only a few weeks. Settling your personal injury case out of court is almost always the fastest way to receive the compensation you deserve.
Also, personal injury attorneys usually just collect a fee if and when you acquire financial compensation such as an insurance settlement or a court judgment. Although fee structures vary, a typical agreement is for a lawyer to receive about a third of a pre-trial insurance settlement.
But the fee is usually closer to 40% when your award is the outcome of a trial. So if your lawyer can resolve your claim out of court, you’ll generally keep a greater percentage of your total compensation. Also, a trial includes expenses, and these will generally be paid out of your award also.
You might be entitled to significantly higher compensation than the insurance company or other party initially wants to give. Make sure you negotiate your settlement skillfully with the help of an experienced lawyer.