People can suffer serious personal injuries in a variety of accidents, including slip and falls, car and truck accidents, bicycle accidents, motorcycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents. In some instances, the at-fault person’s insurance company will offer reasonable compensation for the injuries and damages that you suffered. However, at other times, the insurance company will fail to offer you the necessary compensation. After all, insurance companies are businesses, and they are going to do everything that they possibly can to save themselves money. These insurance companies do not make money by paying out large personal injury claim settlements.
If the insurance company refuses to offer you the compensation that you deserve, you will have the opportunity to litigate your case in the court system. The litigation process begins by filing a lawsuit, taking part in discovery, and, if necessary, taking the case to trial. Just filing a lawsuit, however, does not necessarily mean that your case will proceed all the way to trial. In fact, the majority of personal injury cases settle long before they ever reach the trial phase.
If you have been injured in an accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, a knowledgeable California personal injury lawyer can explain all of your legal options to you and help you decide on the best course of action for your injury case.
Settling a Personal Injury Case
The majority of personal injury cases settle at some point along the line. The amount that a case settles for will depend upon the nature and extent of the injuries sustained, the medical treatment that the accident victim underwent, and whether or not the accident victim sustained a permanent injury in the accident.
As you might imagine, insurance companies are not always willing to put up a significant amount of money to settle a case. Therefore, it typically takes several rounds of negotiations between the accident victim’s lawyer and the insurance company adjuster before a favorable result is reached. In cases where the insurance company is not willing to offer the accident victim the compensation he or she deserves, litigation is an option to consider.
Litigating a Personal Injury Case
The litigation process in a personal injury case begins when the accident victim’s lawyer files a complaint in the court system. Once that happens, the parties will typically exchange written discovery, and the defense attorney may take the accident victim’s deposition. Once the discovery process is complete, the insurance company might be in a position to offer more money to resolve the case by way of a settlement. If the case settles, it effectively ends, and it will not go to trial in court.
In most cases, a jury trial is an action of last resort. Parties will typically only take a case to trial once all other alternatives have been exhausted. For example, the parties might be able to take part in one or more alternative dispute resolution proceedings, such as mediation. At mediation, a neutral mediator will work to help facilitate settlement discussions between the parties in the case.
A knowledgeable California personal injury attorney will be able to discuss all of the options in your case with you and help you decide on the best course of action. If the case does need to go to trial, your attorney will zealously advocate for your legal interests in the courtroom. Contact us today for expert legal assistance.
