Settle Now Or Fight In Court Later: Which Is The Best Option?
From medical treatments to lost wages and pain and suffering, the debts can pile up in the aftermath of an auto accident. When recouping your losses, you can choose to take your claim to court and let a judge or jury decide your case. However, you can also opt to settle with the opposing party outside of court. The following can help you weigh the pros and cons of both options.
Getting a Settlement
The vast majority of auto accident lawsuits are typically resolved outside of the courtroom well before any court date is set. Negotiating a settlement offer is, in most cases, a much simpler way to receive due compensation for injuries and other damages.
There are plenty of other reasons why a settlement may be more favorable than going to court:
- Settling out of court can help you avoid unpredictable judge or jury outcomes. Jurisdictional damage caps, assignment of liability, prior court decisions and other factors can affect judge or jury award outcomes.
- Negotiating a settlement offer can help you avoid the expensive attorney's fees and other costs that often come with a court trial. Keep in mind that most attorneys deduct their fees from the award amount, which makes an out-of-court settlement a good way of keeping more of your money.
- Settlement offers can be arranged and paid out faster than going through the motions of a court trial.
It can also save you the time-consuming hassle of having to appear at multiple court hearings. It's not unusual for such court trials to go on for weeks or even months at a time. If you're not emotionally up to the task of sitting through depositions and pre-trial hearings, you may find a settlement offer to be a less stressful alternative.
Going to Court
In some cases, you may be better off taking your auto accident claim all the way to court instead of negotiating a settlement offer. There are plenty of reasons why you may want to have a judge and jury decide the outcome of your claim:
- By having your claim heard in front of a judge and jury, you stand to receive a significantly larger award amount than if you had negotiated a settlement offer outside of court.
- If you believe the award amount isn't enough to adequately cover your damages, you can always appeal the award decision. In contrast, out-of-court settlements are often final and cannot be appealed.
- In a few rare cases, litigation may be your only avenue for receiving just compensation if the other party is unwilling to settle or if the settlement amount itself is insufficient when compared to your injuries and other damages.
Keep in mind that auto injury claims rarely get to this point unless there are serious underlying issues that prevent a quick settlement from happening. After all, most insurance carriers would rather negotiate a settlement than go through the hard work of convincing a judge and jury to decide in their favor.
The Choice is Up to You
Ultimately, it's up to you to decide whether you want to settle your car accident claims out-of-court or pursue litigation against the other driver. However, you shouldn't make your decision until you've consulted with your attorney, especially if there are serious injuries involved.
Your decision to settle your claim or take it to court may also depend on whether your attorney can build a strong case against the other party in court. The more likely you are to prevail in court, the more advantageous it may be to litigate. In some cases, it may be advantageous to settle if the likelihood of a favorable verdict is remote. Get in touch with a local attorney, such as Master Weinstein Shatz Moyer, P.C., for more information.
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