Claimants must negotiate with the adjuster at the defendant’s insurance company, or hire an attorney to take on that particular task. Plaintiffs need to confront the opposing party, the defendant in a courtroom. For that reason, few claimants choose to become plaintiffs.
A trial creates more costs than participation in settlement negotiations
The percent of money that a personal injury lawyer Calgary takes from his or her client’s winnings reflects that amount of time and effort that the same attorney has put into work on the client’s case. Lawyers that have to advocate for a client at a trial must devote more time and effort to that exercise than any lawyers that could be helping with creation of the terms in a negotiated settlement. Consequently, an attorney’s contingency fee increases, if he or she must advocate for a client during a courtroom trial.
A claimant’s life becomes more stressful, if he or she decides to pursue a lawsuit against the opposing party.
That decision has given the potential plaintiff/former claimant much more paperwork to deal with and organize. That decision could lead to a time when the stressed plaintiff has to step onto the witness stand. During a trial the public gets a chance to learn all sorts of facts about the life of the 2 parties that have confronted each other inside of a courthouse.
The outcome from a trial is unpredictable.
No one can be sure what a jury’s verdict might be. No one can predict the amount of money that the jury might ask the defendant to hand over, as the result of a court-ordered judgment.Even identification of the liable party could undergo a certain amount of alteration, following an uncovering of the facts that might get exposed during a trial.
Trials eat up a great deal of time.
Both sides have a legal right to appeal the judge or jury’s decision. The availability of that right provides the defendant with multiple opportunities for seeking the reversal of the ruling that was made at a previous trial’s conclusion.
Put yourself in a claimant’s shoes.
Would you be ready to pay more money to a hired lawyer, just so that you could try to win a larger amount of money?
Would you be willing to accept the risks that have become associated with litigation procedures?
Would you want to spend numerous weeks or months in a courtroom setting, sitting next to a personal injury lawyer? You might one day have to change your seat, and sit in the witness stand. Few plaintiffs look forward to the emergence of that sort of situation. Hence, few claimants choose to accept the need to deal with that stressful situation.
Accident Victims Receive Their Awarded Funds
The money awarded to an accident victim in the form of a settlement or a court-ordered judgment should make its way to the same victim by one of two possible routes.
Procedure used after settlement
After the victim has won his or her case, the court issues an order of settlement. That gives both sides 30-60 days for completing all of the paperwork.The most important document is the release form from the defendant’s insurance company
The plaintiff’s lawyer studies that particular form, before his/her client signs it. The same lawyer sends the signed form to the defendant’s insurance company. After the insurance company has received the signed form, it issues a check to the plaintiff’s attorney.
The attorney puts that check in an escrow account, while he/she takes care of any liens. The same attorney takes out a selected percentage of the client’s winnings. After that, the client’s lawyer sends the remaining funds to his/her/client, the victim that was promised money.
Procedure used after issuance of court-ordered judgment
The plaintiff that has won a court-ordered judgment must wait to see if the defendant will decide to appeal the decision made by a judge or jury.
If the defendant does appeal that decision, then the plaintiff and defendant must await the decision from the appeals court.
—That court could rule in support of the original verdict.
—The appeals court could elect to reverse the decision that was made by the first court’s judge or jury.
—The appeals court could order a second trial, so that a new and different judge or jury could reach a more suitable decision.
What happens after announcement of the new judge or jury’s decision?
After every trial, the two opposing sides have a legal right to appeal the court’s decision. Hence, it could take quite some time for the defendant to accept the fact that he or she would have to come up with the money for the court-ordered judgment.
Defendants do not always need to hand over in the form of a lump sum all of the money that has been demanded. What accounts for the plaintiff’s readiness to agree to the acceptance of a series of payments? Plaintiffs normally cancel the need for the payment of interest, if the defendant has agreed to deliver a series of payments, instead of a lump sum.
Why would the plaintiffs agree to dispense with the interest?
The government has the right to tax any money that a plaintiff might receive in the form or interest. Obviously, a plaintiff’s desire to avoid paying added taxes would tend to override any desire for a few extra dollars. That is why a large number of plaintiffs dispense with the interest.
After Obtaining a Legal Recovery
In addition to helping you with the paperwork, your lawyer will also help with mediation and trial processes. If a settlement is reached during mediation, it’s important that the agreement is signed before court proceedings begin. The judge must approve it before any payment can be made by either party. Once your personal injury case has been settled in court and judgment has been issued against another party. Whether they admit guilt or not—you’ll need to file an appeal. If you disagree with certain aspects of your settlement agreement or damages awarded by the judge (and sometimes even both).
BILAB Law knows that it is important that you have a good lawyer to help you get the right service. Call us to schedule an appointment at 1-800-259-3098.