Why You Want Your Personal Injury Case Settled Out Of Court
Michael Babboni
Personal Injury
A great personal injury lawyer in St. Petersburg who will go to court to fight for you is something everyone should want after suffering an injury. However, what if you don’t need to go to court in the first place? Going to court with your personal injury case adds time, stress, and extra preparation to your already stressful situation, when all you want is the compensation you deserve to help you to fully recover from the injuries you’ve suffered. A skilled and experienced personal injury lawyer is one that insurance companies don’t want to go to court with in the first place.
Reasons To Settle Out Of Court
Settling out of court has its advantages. Some specific advantages of reaching a settlement after an injury are:
• You’ll likely have lower legal costs – Going to court may require paying expert witnesses for their time and travel to testify for you, an expense that can amount to hundreds of dollars per hour. This includes medical professionals backing up your injuries and proving your need for compensation as you recover. This isn’t required when your case is able to be settled out of court, so your legal costs will amount to less.
• Trials may have unpredictable outcomes – Personal injury cases that go to court may be left to a jury to decide, and this may result in unpredictable outcomes. The jury will receive clear and understandable instructions regarding the laws at hand, but interpretations may differ leading to an outcome you weren’t expecting. When you settle out of court, you’re left knowing what to expect.
• Your settlement offers more finality – When a personal injury case is brought to court, and a verdict is reached, many think that this is the end of the story. What these injured people don’t consider is the appeals process. Appeals may be filed within 30 days of a decision in Florida, and they can take the case back to court should the defendant disagree with the verdict. Through trial and appeals, bigger personal injury cases can be fought in court for months or years. In a settlement, however, the final agreement remains the final agreement.
• The trial process is stressful – Finding yourself injured due to an accident is stressful enough and adding a potential cross-examination into the equation certainly doesn’t help. While most personal injury trials in Florida last just a few days, those days could be include having to take the stand, being cross-examined by the opposing party’s legal team, and even having your character brought into question. In a personal injury settlement, your St. Petersburg personal injury lawyer handles the negotiations and no cross-examination before a court is necessary.
• It’s quicker – Personal injury cases typically go to court after long negotiations prove unsuccessful, but that doesn’t mean you can expect a verdict in the next couple of weeks. It’s not rare for Florida courts to be backlogged for months before you can stand before a judge and jury, so you could be left hanging in limbo until your case is heard. All during this time, you still won’t have the compensation you need to settle the medical costs, lost work wages, and other damages associated with your injury.
When you’re backed by a skilled and experienced personal injury lawyer, insurance companies don’t want to face a trial. They know that you’re being represented by someone who knows how to handle a personal injury trial in Florida, and they know that their chances of low-balling a settlement are much lower compared to someone without experienced representation. If you’d like to know more about the personal injury settlement process, contact us at TheStPeterLawyer.com today.