If you have a personal injury claim, it is natural to wonder whether your personal injury claim will go to trial. In fact, not all personal injury claims end up in court and the vast majority of claims do not. A Jefferson County injury attorney will be happy to counsel you on whether or not your claim may go to trial.
Many personal injury claims instead end with an out-of-court settlement. These claims may be settled even before a lawsuit is filed or they may be settled at any time during the trial or the pre-trial process as long as the jury hasn’t reached a final decision on the case yet.
A settlement occurs because the plaintiff and the defendant would prefer the uncertainty of a settlement to the risk of going to court. The defendant will offer the plaintiff some incentive – usually a lump sum of money or a series of payments – in order to waive the right to sue in court. The plaintiff will accept the money and in exchange the plaintiff will waive his or her right to file a lawsuit.
Plaintiffs often prefer to settle in order to receive a guaranteed payout and to avoid the stress and time involved in a court case. Defendants prefer settlement to avoid legal costs and expenses and also to avoid having a sympathetic jury potentially award a much larger amount of money to the injured plaintiff.
A Jefferson County injury attorney can help to negotiate a settlement for the plaintiff that is fair and reasonable given the nature of the injuries. To learn more about settling a personal injury claim with the help of a Jefferson County injury attorney, contact Gray & White today at 502-210-8942 or 888-450-4456.