The big court cases make headlines. They come with huge numbers: $800,000. $11 million. $13 million. Even bigger numbers. You’d be forgiven for thinking a big, public, messy trial is the way to go regarding your personal injury case. In reality, 92% of cases settle…and you probably should hope yours is among them.
Here’s what you need to know.
Trials Are Unpredictable
A trial case could indeed bring you much more money than a typical personal injury settlement. Juries can be emotional and don’t have the experience to tally up the value of a personal injury case to the penny as lawyers on both sides of a personal injury case do.
But juries can be emotional. They have biases. For example, in a typical motorcycle accident case, juries tend to blame the rider just because they were the one riding a motorcycle. You could get far less money than you’d get with a settlement. You could get nothing at all.
Settlements Can’t Be Appealed
You don’t tend to hear about appeals on the news.
But defendants do appeal personal injury cases every chance they get. While they typically only get one appeal and can’t introduce new evidence, they can challenge the former judge’s ruling. This often results in personal injury awards being slashed to much smaller numbers.
The appeal delays your payment, so you’re waiting even longer to get your money. Personal injury cases can take 18 to 24 months to resolve as it is.
When you settle the case, you get what you agree to, and you’ll get the money shortly after the agreement is signed.
Insurance Limits Matter
Most motorists in New York carry the bare minimum of liability insurance coverage. This means they carry limits of up to $25,000 for bodily injury not resulting in death or $50,000 for any injury resulting in death sustained by any person in any accident.
That means they will only pay up to $25,000 for your injury.
Of course, other types of injury cases, like slip and fall cases, construction accident cases, nursing home cases, and medical malpractice cases, are covered by insurance with much higher limits, but the principle remains the same.
Theoretically, the person who was actually responsible for the negligence is responsible for paying out whatever insurance doesn’t pay. You’ll probably get every cent when that entity is a large corporation with deep pockets. When it’s someone who is barely getting by, you’re not going to see that money.
Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage helps somewhat during a car accident case, as does your own PIP coverage. Your own health insurance pitches in. But the bottom line is a $10 million award is only a $10 million award on paper if you can’t collect it. If the most you’ll ever collect is $200,000, you should settle for $200,000.
Injury Suits Serve a Purpose
The purpose of a personal injury lawsuit is not to make you rich. It’s to make you “whole.”
No suit can give you your legs back if you’ve lost them, but it can compensate you for your medical bills, wheelchair costs, vehicle and home modification costs, and career loss.
If your lawyer can negotiate a settlement meeting those objectives, the suit has done what it was always meant to do.
Get Help Today
Get an experienced negotiator on your side by calling our offices today. We’ve helped thousands of New Yorkers negotiate fair personal injury settlements, and we can help you, too.
Call now to schedule a free consultation.
