Do Most Car Crash Personal Injury Cases Settle or Go to Trial?

After suffering injuries in an automobile accident, the damages might be overwhelming. For example, receiving medical treatment after a no-fault accident can take thousands of dollars. Fortunately, you can recover compensation after suffering injuries in an accident in Maryland because of another person’s negligence. If you or a loved one is considering filing a car crash personal injury claim, you may wonder if your case will settle or go to trial. Most car accident cases never make it to trial, even if the parties move from an insurance claim to a personal injury lawsuit.

In Maryland, over 90% of car crash personal injury cases settle out of court rather than going to trial if liability or fault is established. Most cases are resolved through insurance negotiations or mediation, particularly when liability is clear. A small minority of cases proceed to trial, usually due to disputes over liability or damages, or the severity of injuries. While many cases enter litigation (filing a lawsuit), even most of those cases settle before a jury renders a verdict.

According to the American Bar Association (ABA), most civil cases undergo negotiations between the two parties for a settlement. The ABA also found that over the past half-century, the number of federal civil jury trials has significantly declined to the point where jury trials are an exception rather than the rule.

Settling a car collision case rather than going to trial can save you stress and litigation costs and help you obtain compensation faster. When you work with the Law Offices of Larry B. Litt, our experienced Maryland car accident attorneys can make a difference in your case whether going to trial or negotiating a settlement.

The Advantages of Settling Your Case

The truth is, there are many advantages to settling your case. This is why the majority of cases do settle. Some of the benefits of settling your case include the following:

1. You May Receive Money Sooner – We can almost hear the famous jingles about how to get your money now… the ones heard everywhere on the planet. As annoying as those jingles can be, the truth is injured victims who settle their personal injury claims often get paid more quickly than those who go to trial. Sometimes a settlement could come during negotiations with an insurance adjuster or law firm. Other times a settlement could come right after a lawsuit is filed, after depositions, or after motion practice. These are all often earlier than a trial and allow a car accident victim to recover compensation quickly. However, stay tuned to find out why going to trial may still be the better option.
2. You May Feel More Control Over Your Fate – Another reason to settle your claim is to keep some control over the outcome instead of allowing a judge or jury to decide what you will (or won’t) get. Often this means giving up something, such as getting a higher settlement in the end, if you hired an experienced trial-hardened attorney like one of ours. However, settling allows you to guarantee that you’ll get a certain amount.
3. You Can Avoid Appeals – Let’s face it, appeals take a long time. Even the savviest attorney will not be able to push a case through an appeal. A lot of work goes into an appeal from a judicial side, which delays the process. If you have a potential question or issue in your case, settling can help avoid an appeal.

Note, it can even mean that settling after a trial victory is a good idea too. Most injured victims do not realize this, but you may win a trial, but the at-fault party may want to appeal a ruling or issue. That could delay your payment, as there is an automatic stay on paying out a money judgment in Maryland unless a court orders otherwise. However, that interest will keep accruing. Sometimes it makes sense to settle your case to forego a part of the interest (or even a part of the verdict) to get your money faster without having to go through a time-consuming and possibly risky appeal.

Disadvantages to Settling Your Car Accident Personal Injury Case – When to Go to Trial

The truth is, there are many advantages to settling your case. This is why the majority of cases do settle. Some of the benefits of settling your case include the following:

1. You Are Giving Up Money – The truth is, if you win at trial, you are much more likely to get a higher settlement amount than if you settle outside of court, especially if you have an attorney experienced in winning in trial, like ours.You are likely giving up money to settle before trial, except in situations where the defendant’s insurance policy is maxed out (i.e., it is a $100,000 policy and you are offered $100,000), you do not have underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage, and the defendant does not have assets you can seize. Adjusters and defense attorneys give a discount for not taking the risk for trial. Thus, despite the advantages of settling your claim, you’re giving up some financial compensation to do it.Solution: Keep your cards close and carry that big stick. You can do that by hiring an experienced trial attorney like the ones that we use at the Law Offices of Larry B. Litt. Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers know we are not afraid to go to trial to protect our client’s rights. We will fight for our clients and will not let big corporations put profits over our clients’ well-being. When you hire personal injury attorneys in Baltimore, Maryland, like ours, you get a law firm with a legal team that stands ready to fight to get the compensation you deserve.
2. You Create a Bad Precedent – When you settle your car crash personal injury claim with a broken arm as a middle-aged female for X-amount of money, you have just given the insurance adjuster the ability to tell the next injured victim with similar facts and demographics that their case is worth X-amount of dollars. Sounds fair, right?Not quite!Remember, settling often means giving up a discount for your recovery, and that means X-amount is usually less than what you can get at trial, which might really be XYZ-amount. It may be easy to say, “So what? I won’t break my arm again,” and that may be true for you, but maybe not for a family member, your child, a friend, or a co-worker. And truth be told, while we hate to see it happen again, some of our clients do get hurt again and always come back to us. That’s when an insurance adjuster could say, “Well you took X-amount last time for a broken arm, so this injury is not as severe and worth less…”It happens. Do not let bad precedent harm you or your family, friends, and others you care about. Fight back and get the compensation you deserve with our experienced personal injury car crash attorneys.
3. The Defendant Doesn’t Learn – When you settle, you are also letting a defendant off the hook. Well, yes – the defendant will likely have increased insurance premiums. And yes, a defendant may have other issues related to their license, business, or other factors. But without going to trial and making a defendant face the risk of a large verdict, you are giving the defendant (and the insurance company) a way out.
4. Derivative Claims Often Don’t Get Paid – A derivative claim is a claim made by a spouse or another dependent that essentially has a symbiotic relationship with the underlying claim. Said differently, if one spouse is hurt in a car collision, the other spouse may have a claim for loss of consortium, services, society, and other normal spousal relationship activities like loss of eating out, vacations, childcare, loss of intimacy, and other things.When you settle your claim, most defendants and insurance adjusters won’t give anything for that. You get a lump sum, and that’s it. However, when you go to trial, a verdict sheet can specifically ask for an award of these damages. A jury could be soulless and say no, but many times, a jury will put some figure in there to compensate a spouse or another dependent, if there has been a claim and the evidence supports it. That’s why going to trial helps you AND your spouse recover the maximum amount you are entitled to.

Get Help Deciding Between Settling Your Personal Injury Car Crash Case and Going to Trial

Although going to trial is an option for car wreck victims, most cases can be resolved outside the courtroom with a fair settlement more quickly. The Maryland auto accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Larry B. Litt can help you understand your legal options for filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit and how each may impact your chances of receiving compensation for your injuries, and damages.