When to Settle in a Personal Injury Case

When you have been injured in an auto accident or through the negligence of an employer or business that you frequent, it is common to file a personal injury claim- and common to receive an offer to settle from the defendant or his insurance company. When this happens, you may be tempted to decline an initial settlement offer in hopes of getting a much higher monetary amount for your claim by taking the case to court. In many cases, settlement offers are lowball offers intended to avoid higher damages that could result from a court decision. However, in some cases, it may be more beneficial to settle your case out of court. How can you decide when you should settle your personal injury lawsuit claim as opposed to engaging in a court case?

Settle or Sue?

One way to determine when it is better to settle a personal injury lawsuit rather than taking it to court is to determine whether or not you can afford or stomach a lengthy court battle.

For example, if you are out of work because of your injury and need to have income rapidly to cover the time it will take you to recover, you may wish to settle simply to get the lump sum payment and get on with your life. Preparing a case and fighting out the messy details of it in court may be too much for you in terms of stress, or it may take you away from things you need to do with your life. If so, this would be a good time to decide to settle.

Another time to settle a personal injury lawsuit rather than fight it out in court is if the injuries are not severe enough and the costs are not high enough to warrant attempting to get more money.

If you have $1500 in medical bills and out of pocket costs after a personal injury, and you are offered $1000 in a settlement, you will need to decide if it is worth trying to get the extra $500 through a court proceeding. Keep in mind that you may be awarded less in court than you would have with a direct settlement, and you could potentially lose the case and receive nothing at all. You will have to decide what is right for you in a case like this.

One final time to choose settlement of a personal injury lawsuit over a court battle is if you are likely to lose the case.

If you do not have enough evidence to support your case, you may wish to settle out of court if you are provided with an offer.

Getting Help

Personal injury lawyers are experts at evaluating cases and understanding possible jury awards. If you are involved in a personal injury case, you should have a lawyer. He or she can help you to build a strong case and can assist you in deciding when to settle and when to sue.

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