Why Should I Settle My Personal Injury Case?

If you ask any experienced personal injury lawyer, he or she will tell you that most cases settle before the case has to go to court and have a jury decide. Many people wonder why so many cases settle versus allowing a jury to make the decision. Robert Bates & Associates have been representing seriously injured people in Tennessee for over a decade. Every law firm is different, but we have certain knowledge, skills, and resources where we can win our clients the full and fair compensation they deserve. If the lawyer is good and works up the case properly, usually the case will settle.

Why Do Cases Settle?

The main reason why cases settle prior to letting a jury decide is because no one ever knows what a jury will do with a case. It really is a crapshoot when you let a jury decide. And this is both the defendant and the plaintiff in a case. Usually, the defendant’s attorneys are worried that the jury will punish the defendant for their negligent behavior and hit them with a large verdict. But on the plaintiff’s side, the plaintiff’s attorney is worried that some members of the jury won’t like the injured plaintiff for some reason and convince everyone else to give a lower amount. Because both sides are unsure about the outcome 12 individuals will decide, there are always settlement discussions prior to the case going to trial or even during trial.

If the plaintiff’s attorney picks the right case and uses his or her knowledge and skills to properly work up the case, then most of the time the defendant’s insurance company (usually the entity that is ultimately making the decision) will not want to take the case to trial. An experienced personal injury attorney will thoroughly develop the facts of the case to demonstrate that the defendant was clearly negligent and that the plaintiff was seriously injured. The attorney will fully compile the medical evidence necessary to prove the injury and all the evidence necessary to prove wage loss and unpaid medical bills. When the insurance adjuster and the defendant’s attorney sees how the case is being put together, most of the time they want to discuss settlement versus taking the chance with a jury as well as having to pay the extra costs of the defendant’s attorney and his or her team at trial. It actually is rather expensive to go to trial when you factor in the defense attorney’s hourly fee, assistants, experts, etc. If the insurance company can offer a reasonable sum to the plaintiff they will forgo all of those extra expenses plus the risk of having a jury sock them with a huge verdict amount.

How Much Will You Pocket After a Settlement?

If your personal injury case settles prior to a trial, there will be fees and costs taken out of that amount by your attorney. Most personal injury attorneys charge a percentage of what is recovered in settlement for their fee. Most of the time this amount is 33.3% or one third; however, every law firm has different policies and may charge a different percentage depending upon the type of case and at what stage the case settles at. Also, there will be case and litigation expenses taken out of the settlement amount. These expenses can be many things such as the cost of obtaining medical records, postage, expert report fees, police report fees, deposition fees, etc.

Another amount might be deducted from the settlement award is unpaid medical bills. Usually, the amount of those unpaid bills is factored into the settlement. Also, oftentimes, your personal injury attorney can negotiate with the medical providers to get them to accept less than the billed amount, putting more money in the plaintiff’s pocket.

The last issue that has to be dealt with is taxes. Some portions of a personal injury settlement or jury verdict might be subject to taxes, depending upon state and Federal tax law. Prior to agreeing to any settlement amount, the plaintiff and attorney should discuss the tax issue with an accountant or tax professional so that the plaintiff knows exactly how much is going to be needed to pay taxes.

The bottom line is that the plaintiff should not agree to any settlement amount unless he or she has a good idea as to the amount of money that will be deducted from the settlement.

Robert BatesRobert is a Kingsport trial lawyer who handles car, truck and motorcycle wreck cases across the Tri-Cities. Every client gets his cell number.