Types Of Injury Lawsuit Settlements

When you have been injured by someone else who hurt you on purpose or through his negligence, you may be entitled to damages. These damages can come in the form of a jury award if you take the case to trial and the trial proceeds all the way through. Most often, however, you are going to be offered a personal injury settlement. If you are offered such an injury lawsuit settlement, you essentially agree to accept a lump sum of money in exchange for a release of liability. You can't sue, but you get a guaranteed payout for your damages.

Why Most Cases Settle

Most personal injury lawsuits settle out of court because it minimizes the risk to the defendant. You are usually- but not always- dealing with an insurance company or a big corporation in personal injury cases. For example:

If you were the victim of a car accident, you are going to be dealing with the other driver's liability insurance carrier
If you were the victim of medical malpractice, you are going to be dealing with a medical malpractice insurer
Dog bite cases and premises liability cases at private homes are handled by home insurers
Premises liability cases and product liability cases may be handled by the liability insurance carrier of the company who is responsible for your injury- although this isn't always the case.... sometimes you deal directly with attorneys hired by the corporation if the corporation is responsible for their own liabilities.

Insurance companies rarely want to go through a trial that can be expensive in terms of legal fees, especially if they are afraid a sympathetic jury will award a large verdict. Instead, they can control their costs by offering you an injury lawsuit settlement. If you agree to their offer, they know that they face no further risk.

Types of Personal Injury Damages

If you are offered a settlement, you need to make sure it is reasonable in light of what you would have gotten if you went to court. Damages for personal injuries include:

Medical bills
Lost wages
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Wrongful death
Loss of companionship
Punitive damages (if the defendant was grossly negligent or if he acted intentionally to hurt you, and if permitted by state law)

The type of personal injury settlement can also make a difference as well. For example, in some medical malpractice cases, caps or upper limits are placed on damage awards for non-compensatory damages (those not designed to repay your actual expenses). California is one such state, with a $250,000 cap.

Getting Help

If you have been injured and are considering accepting a personal injury settlement, you need to hire an attorney as soon as possible to look that settlement over. Your attorney can help you to ensure that the settlement offer is fair in light of the laws of your state, the strength of your case and the nature of your injuries.

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