Most accident-related disputes end with a settlement. The benefits that are linked to settling outweigh the drawbacks. The outcome from a settlement is more certain than the outcome from a trial.
During resettlement negotiations, the 2 disputing parties have control over the range for the potential size of the agreed upon compensation. At a trial, either a judge or a jury determines the size of the compensation package that should be granted to the plaintiff, the victim of the accident.
A claimant saves money by settling with the opposing party, instead of facing that same person in a courtroom.
A personal injury lawyer in Hayward charges a contingency fee. That is some percent of the funds that the insurance company has granted to the claimant. When a dispute has ended with a settlement, the percent of the claimant’s funds that goes to the lawyer comes to about 331/3 %.
Personal injury lawyers charge a larger fee, whenever some of their services must be carried out within a courtroom. In that case, the personal injury attorney would take at least 40% of any court-ordered judgment.
Claimants get their money faster than plaintiffs.
Once negotiations have paved the way for an agreed upon settlement, the claimant does not have to wait long, before receiving the expected funds. The length of that wait would depend on the amount of time devoted to a signing of the release form, and the delivery of that same form to the defendant’s insurance company.
Contrast that short period with the amount of time that might pass, from the reading of the verdict until delivery of any court-ordered judgment. That time period could exceed a run of months, or even a single year, if the opposing party chose to seek an appeal.
Personal injury lawyers and their clients do not have to exert a great deal of effort, in order to win a fair amount of money, at the close of settlement negotiations. The same lawyers must take part in a more laborious procedure, if their clients have refused to settle with those on the other side of the dispute.
Claimants can retain their privacy, while taking part in settlement negotiations.
Plaintiffs do not enjoy the same level of privacy, when the time has come for them to step onto the witness stand. Whichever lawyer might ask them questions, he or she has the right to introduce queries that probe into some of the plaintiff’s secrets. A courtroom full of people can hear each of the plaintiff’s answers.
That differs strikingly from the way that the claim process moves forward during pre-settlement negotiations. At that time, the statements from a claimant remain undisclosed to anyone but the representative for the defendant.
