A person who wants to hire accident lawyers in Virginia Beach, VA may envision the case going to trial and leading to an enormous monetary award. In truth, this rarely happens except in situations where the injury was dramatically severe, such as an accident resulting in paralysis or a permanent coma.
Relevant Statistics
About ninety-five percent of injury cases are settled out of court. In the five percent that go to trial, the plaintiff usually loses. The insurance company defending its case nearly always has substantially more resources to pay lawyers than an individual does. The company may have an entire team of attorneys for the defense.
Important Time Factors
Settling is usually better for the plaintiff in regard to the time factor. Accident lawyers in Virginia Beach, VA can negotiate a reasonable settlement relatively quickly. In contrast, preparing for a trial and getting it scheduled on the docket can take a very long time. The insurer’s lawyers may use successful delay tactics, such as saying they require extra time for discovery.
In addition, another time factor must be considered. A settlement or a court award is generally not made until the plaintiff has reached maximum healing, or when doctors are able to knowledgeably estimate when maximum healing will occur. In many injury cases, that need to wait already adds many months to the process. In the meantime, the person may be heading toward some dire financial straits if they are unable to work for all those months.
Filing a Lawsuit but Obtaining a Settlement
If the insurer continues to be uncooperative during settlement negotiations, an attorney with a firm such as Price Perkins Larkin may file a lawsuit with the court and start the ball rolling for a trial. Even then, however, a settlement is likely to be made before a trial is ever scheduled. Insurance companies, as a rule, do not want to bring these cases in front of an unpredictable jury. They also don’t want to spend the money on trial preparation and a legal team for the defense. Visit the website to learn more about this particular organization that provides legal representation.
