Next Steps for Your Car Accident Injury Claim in Florida: Should We Sue and Go to Litigation or Choose to Settle?

If you have recently been injured in a car accident, you may be under the impression that moving forward with a lawsuit and engaging in litigation is the best way to obtain a favorable result.

However, there are many different reasons why you need to consider settlement options as well.

For many individuals who have recently been injured in an accident, the overwhelming stress and pressure of coping with the accident aftermath can make it difficult to make decisions.

That’s where your personal injury lawyer comes in to help you determine what is in your best interest.

An attorney can help you evaluate when it makes sense to continue with litigation and when you should seriously consider a settlement offer made by the other side.

Settling your claim is usually the safest and quickest option. The vast majority of injury lawsuits settle well before they get to trial.

Although there are certainly situations where car accident injury claims make it all the way through litigation and are left up to a jury or a judge to decide, in many cases the defendant and his or her attorney may determine that it is in the best interests to resolve a claim quickly by settling outside of court.

One of the primary reasons for this is the uncertainty in the court system. When a case goes all the way through to litigation, it is left up to the jury or judge’s discretion outside of any damage caps to determine first of all, if there is merit to the claim, and secondly, how much the injured individual should receive.

This can be a major gamble for anyone to take and therefore, the other side may begin to offer a settlement option well in advance.

This might be done in order to guard against the potential risks of a major decision being handed down in favor of the plaintiff.

It is not always easy to answer these questions yourself, but your injury attorney can help you determine whether or not a settlement offer would fairly compensate you for your injuries and suffering.

Advantages of Settling Prior to Going Through a Lawsuit

There are several different advantages to settling your case before going to court. You can settle your case at any time. These benefits include:

Avoiding additional attorney’s fees
Avoiding unpredictable jury decisions
Getting compensation more quickly
Avoid having to appear in court multiple times

How to Initiate Settlement Talks

Whether you are the plaintiff or defendant in a personal injury case, you may be curious about how the settlement discussions are initiated.

These are usually started with what’s known as a demand letter. Putting together a demand letter still requires the insight of an experienced attorneys because there is a great deal of evidence gathering and preparation that must be completed before putting together a demand letter.

If you receive medical treatment, for example, you will need to have all of your medical records already requested and in order before submitting the demand letter.

This step alone could take several weeks or months and may also require you spending money to receive those records. A well-written and clear demand letter can make a big difference with the other side evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of their own case and deciding to respond with a settlement offer.

If the other side proposes a settlement offer, it is usually based off of the severity of your injuries and other details associated with your case.

If you are not able to resolve things with the other party as a result of your settlement talks, you still have the opportunity to go back and forth with negotiations or to move forward with litigation.

This fact is why so many people choose to at least attempt settlement, because in the worst case scenario, your claim may still go into litigation, but it’s worth an effort to settle outside of court if possible.