Court Settlements in Maryland Injury Cases
If you have suffered an injury and are considering filing a legal claim, the following is important information you should know about settling out of court. For more specific information regarding your case, call and schedule a consultation with a Maryland injury lawyer today.
Role of The Attorney in Deciding Whether to Settle in an Injury Case
The attorney’s role in the settlement process is to give their client the best advice possible on whether or not the compensation amount is fair based on all the factors involved. This includes the various aspects of liability and the damages that the client and their attorney will be able to prove in trial. Ultimately, however, the decision of whether to settle or resolve the case will be the client’s.
How An Out of Court Settlement Usually Happens
What typically happens is the attorney will gather all medical records and form a settlement demand package that will then be sent to the insurance company. The settlement package essentially states, based on the evidence and theory of the case, what is believed to be a fair and adequate compensation package for the person’s injuries and losses.
Injuries are supported by the medical records and bills, and any other proof that the client and their attorneys have such as witness statements and photographs and police reports. Then typically what happens is the insurance company will make an offer based on the settlement demand and the client’s legal team will negotiate in order to get as close to the demand as possible for the most amount of money. If negotiations fall through where the insurance company doesn’t want to go up on their number or increase their settlement offer and the client feels that is inadequate compensation then an attorney will recommend that they can file a lawsuit to continue the case against the defendant. However it is up to the client to make that decision. So if the client considers that they don’t want to go forward with any further negotiations they are well within their rights to just take the money and run.
How Likely it is For Your Case To Go To Trial
Approximately 5% to 10% of the cases are tried in courts. Most often they are settled. So while it is not unheard of to go to court it is not likely to go to full drawn jury trial or district trial. If the case is a “he-said, she-said” type situation where both parties are pointing fingers at each other than a trial is much more likely.
However of the different personal injury cases, one where the defendant causes liability are most likely to go to trial if the damages are significant. Whether a case goes to trial or not all depends on the insurance company whether they take the hard stand or deny that or not.
Out of Court Settlements During a Trial
Out of court settlements can happen at any time from the date of the accident to the verdict or the bench trial. Generally judges are happy when this happens because it means less work for them, because one more case goes off their docket.
Time it Takes For Injury Cases In Maryland To Be Resolved
In Maryland a typical case can be resolved in as little as 5–6 months or it can take as long as 3–4 years depending on the level of treatment that a person receives, when they stop receiving treatment, and also depending on what court the case gets filed in, as cases in the district court resolve much sooner.
When a Case is Moved To Federal Court
If a case is moved from state to federal court this typically means either that there are two defendants from different states or that the case is worth more than $75,000. If either of these are the case then you can move it to the federal courts in Maryland, DC, Virginia, or another jurisdiction. This, however, also means that there is a different set of rules and procedures however this will not impact the value on the case. Moving a case from state to federal court is not very common.
