If you file a personal injury lawsuit, chances are your case will never go to trial. In fact, U.S. Justice Department data shows about 97 percent of all claims are settled or dismissed without a trial.
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What is a Personal Injury Settlement?
The term “settlement” refers to a kind of formal resolution of your claim or lawsuit before a judge or jury hears it. It means you agree to accept money in exchange for dropping your action against the person or business that caused your injury. Settlement agreements can be reached at any point during litigation, up to the point that a case has been tried, but before jurors reach a verdict. In some instances, your case can settle before you ever even have to file a personal injury lawsuit.
After your injuries are stabilized or you have reached maximum medical improvement, Your injury lawyer submits a demand letter that explains your injuries, describes the monetary amount of damages you are seeking, supplies a legal argument in support of that demand, and includes any supporting documentation. The defendant’s lawyer responds, usually in the form of a counteroffer.
The settlement negotiation begins. This is often a lot of back-and-forth phone calls, emails, and meetings between the lawyers. It also constitutes some exchange of initial discovery and possibly some pre-trial hearings that will help resolve minor issues and whittle down the scope of a trial, if one does take place. Often, attorneys from either side are able to reach an agreement. This will involve some payment and signing away of future liabilities which means you cannot sue again later.
Things That You Must Consider About Your Personal Injury Lawsuit
Prior Complaints or Verdicts
A history of problems at a given location will not necessarily prove your complaint, but they can help bolster it. For example, if a hotel that received numerous complaints of criminal activity at or around the site and failed to enact additional security measures, they could be held liable for negligent security.
Pre-Existing Conditions
It is a common defence in a personal injury lawsuit to assert that the injuries claimed existed prior to the crash/incident. In car crash cases, it is very common for insurers to ask you to sign a medical authorization – because they want to know what sort of injuries or pain you complained of before.
Defendant’s Carelessness
To prove liability in a Juul lawsuit personal injury lawsuit, we need to show:
- The defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff to use reasonable care.
- The defendant breached that duty.
- Injury resulted from that breach.
If you cannot show the defendant failed to use reasonable care, you do not have a case.
What is considered “reasonable” will depend on the circumstances involved and what role the defendant was playing. For example, say you slip and fall in a grocery store and break your hip, requiring surgery. There was unquestionably a dangerous substance on the floor, you were undoubtedly hurt, but unless you can prove the store failed to use reasonable care, you will not win your case.