Settling a Virginia Personal Injury Case or Going To Trial

If you’ve been injured as the result of someone else’s negligence, you have a variety of legal options. Some of the legal options you have if you have been injured as the result of someone else’s fault, or someone else’s negligence, include settling the case by negotiating with an insurance adjuster or their claims adjuster; negotiating with the insurance company or their defense lawyer; or their attorney representative; filing a lawsuit to proceed with a trial; or some combination thereof. Consulting with a Virginia injury lawyer can help a person decide on their best option moving forward.

Considering Settling a Case

The decision of whether to settle a case or to take your case to trial either by a judge or jury is the decision that completely lies within the control of the client, the injured party. An attorney will never settle and should never settle a case without the client’s permission and without their expressed permission.

While an attorney’s job is to assist their client in receiving the best available outcome, an attorney’s role in the decision to go to trial or to settle a case, is to advise the client of the risks and the benefits of proceeding to trial, advise the client of what could happen if the case is settled, what the value is of the case in their opinion based upon their experience, what some of the costs and risks are if the case proceeded to trial, and how and what aspects of the client’s case would work favorably and what aspects of the case could not work favorably.

Deciding to Go to Trial

After a series of consultations and evaluations of their claim with a personal injury attorney, an individual may feel that the risk of going to trial is outweighed by the benefits and would be willing to accept the verdict of a jury or a judge’s ruling in lieu of the settlement offer. If an individual decides it would be best, it is important to tell their attorney that they want to go to trial.

Consult With an Experienced Virginia Lawyer

For an initial consultation with an injury attorney, an individual should take the following information with them: any identifying information that they have received from the other driver if it’s an auto accident case; as well as medical records for any type of injury case, whether it be an auto accident, pedestrian accident or medical malpractice case; as well as the narrative of what happened.

A brief one or two-paragraph narrative including the people, places, names and all of that can be very helpful in helping an attorney understand a person’s case and the client themselves.

How a Lawyer Helps You Decide to Settle or Go to Trial

Very often, the injured party has been injured for the first time and is going through this process for the first time. An experienced injury attorney, goes through this process on a daily basis. That means on a daily basis they are exposed to the value of claims, the fickleness of judges and juries and to the strengths and weaknesses of personal injury cases.

Attorneys can advise clients on what to expect through the litigation process or what costs they may incur, as well as on what actions may improve their client’s chances for a more favorable outcome and on whether or not the settlement being offered is consistent with similar settlements under similar circumstances.

Certainly, every personal injury case is unique, but an attorney, can use their experience in a wide variety of these cases to try to help people understand what options they have and let them make the decision as to which option is in their best interest.