Before You Go To Court: Personal Injury Settlement Procedures
When a careless driver makes your life chaotic, you have ways to be compensated. You may never need to make it to court, however, if you are offered an adequate settlement. While a settlement can happen at any time, there are several points in the process that stand out. Read on to find out more about how the discovery process might affect your chances for a settlement.
Why Settle?
If you are offered a good settlement for your money damages, you should definitely consider accepting it. Since it can take time for a personal injury case to come to trial, a settlement is a far quicker way to be paid what you are owed for:
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages
- Medical bills (past, present, and future)
and more.
Additionally, settlements allow you to avoid paying court costs. The best way to find out how much money you are owed is to speak with a personal injury attorney. They will take a look at the facts of your case and provide you with guidance. If you are owed an adequate sum, they will probably represent you using a contingency agreement. This means that they will be paid from the settlement or from the eventual court judgment if the case goes to trial.
What is Discovery?
A trial is the end result of months of preparation and investigation. In most cases, the facts of the case are all present on the day the judge pounds the gavel and the trial begins. Discovery provides a smoother and faster trial process since it lawfully demands that both parties share information about the case with each other. If you have medical records and photographs that help prove your case, those items are provided to the other side before the start of the trial. If the other side has proof that you were partially at fault for the accident, then the accident-reconstruction results are shared with your attorney. This exchange of information not only helps each side be prepared for trial, but it gives each side a very good idea of what they must refute to gain victory.
Discovery and Settlement Offers
There is an undisputed connection between discovery practices and a settlement offer. If you have a strong case, discovery will shed light on its merits. It is not unusual for cases to approach the beginning of trial before an adequate settlement offer is extended. You must know what your case is worth and have a legal professional on your side to help negotiate for an appropriate settlement, so speak to a personal injury attorney today.
For more information, contact a company such as Steele Law Offices, LLC today.
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