Deciding if you should settle your personal injury claim and case is a personal decision that every claimant must make for themselves, although ideally under the educated advice of an experienced personal injury lawyer.
To make an informed decision about whether you should settle your personal injury claim and case in court, or with an out-of-court settlement, you need to consider the three specific elements of personal injury cases: time, proof and financial stability.
Should I settle my Personal Injury Claim and Case?
Statistically, about 95% of personal injury claims and cases are settled out of court. These numbers are overwhelmingly in favour of settling out of court due to the difficulty of proving expenses related to personal injury cases, due to the length of the process overall and due to the financial stability of the claimant.
Time
The average personal injury case takes well over a year to process, with a large majority of cases taking closer to two years. There are of course some that are processed quicker (and some slower), but in order to be successful you need to stick it out until the very end of the trial. This isn’t just a battle of wills, personal injury cases can be lengthy and exhausting—especially for someone already battling a physical injury. If you aren’t prepared to wait years for court-awarded compensation then you may want to save yourself the hassle by deciding to settle early on in the process (although at a reasonable stage so as to not adversely affect the out-of-court settlement offer).
Proof
Personal injury cases aren’t about the injuries you’ve sustained—they’re about the financial losses you are able to prove in order substantiate your case. In order to launch a successful case you must prove financial losses from: medical expenses not covered by OHIP, loss of work (past and future), loss of opportunity (past and future) and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred directly due to the injury.
Financial Stability
The biggest reason the majority of personal injury claimants settle is for the quick cash settlement they receive. Going to court can delay receiving compensation for well over a year, which is financially prohibitive for many, especially due to the costs incurred due to the accident that adversely affect their overall stability.
So, Should I Settle my Personal Injury Case and Claim?
Making an informed decision about whether you should settle your personal injury claim or take the matter to the courts can be a difficult decision. How long can I wait? Will my financial stability be adversely affected? How much time will it take out of my life? Am I in stable enough physical condition to make it through?
To help you make the decision, call one of our experienced personal injury lawyers here at Jane Conte. We can assess your case and give you all the information you need to decide whether to settle or take your claim to court.
