Personal Injury Law: Should I Settle or Not?

Dealing with personal injury cases involves lengthy and complex processes. And if you suffered from a severe physical injury due to the negligence of another party, you must consider hiring a reputable personal injury attorney to help you obtain the compensation you deserve for the injuries and damages. If you decide to take this route, you are more likely going to be able to avoid the dramatic courtroom scenarios. Most personal injury cases get settled before reaching trial, and it all happens for a good reason.

In many cases, the concerned parties arrive at a reasonable settlement agreement. The settlement is more than just an agreement. It is a process that involves an exchange of information between the parties involved. Then they negotiate until an agreement is reached.  To successfully move the process, the help of a mediator is needed.

Settling an injury lawsuit outside of court can benefit you in more ways than one. And if you’re still contemplating whether you will settle or not, here are some good reasons why you should settle your case.

1.   Trials can be expensive. Trials usually require a lot of money, time and energy. The legal services and support of attorneys are expensive. And plaintiffs are not able to work immediately because of the injuries. This means that their stream of income can be affected. If there’s a need for trials, it will be more time consuming, and it can keep people from doing something more productive elsewhere. Complex cases may even take years before a final decision is reached. If you opt to take the route of getting the case settled at an earlier time, you won’t have to spend on the costly litigation processes.

2.   Trials are stressful. In most cases, trials for personal injury cases only run for not more than a few days. However, it could still be very stressful for the parties and other people involved. Trials will require both parties to be examined and cross-examined on the witness stand. They will have to face the situation where their character will be questioned publicly. The days and weeks leading to a trial will also require a lot of effort in terms of the preparation. But when you choose to have a settlement, the matter is concluded as soon as the negotiation is done.

3.   The trial process can take years. Even a simple personal injury case may take more than a year before the trial gets concluded. Sometimes it is even longer, especially when the party who wins the trial decides to appeal the case. With a settlement, as soon as the negotiation is done, both parties can put the matters behind them and be able to move forward.

Deciding to go for settlement on a personal injury case is not entirely a bad idea after all. It doesn’t mean that your case is also not strong. It is, in fact, a wise decision to make for some good reasons. And if you need an expert opinion and legal advice regarding the settlement of your personal injury case, you need to reach out to a personal injury lawyer you can trust –Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers Kentucky & Tennessee.