Settlement vs. Trial: What’s Best for Your Car Accident Lawsuit?

Florida is a no-fault state when it comes to traffic accidents. This means that if you’re in a collision, you can recover losses from your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance, without worrying about proving fault. If you suffer serious injuries, however, Florida allows you to pursue lawsuits.

Car accident lawsuits help you recover both economic and non-economic damages, but they require negotiating with insurance companies to achieve a settlement. If that’s not possible, your next option may be to go to trial.

Settlements are often much faster resolutions, but they can result in a lower amount than you may get if you go to trial. On the other hand, car accident trials can allow you to receive potentially more substantial compensation, but they can take a long time to finalize.

With a Miami car accident lawyer helping you through the process, you can receive guidance on the right option for your lawsuit, depending on its unique factors.

Understanding Car Accident Settlements

A car accident settlement is an agreement between two parties involved in a collision to resolve the legal issues the crash created without needing to go to trial. Insurance companies play a central role in car accident settlements. These companies typically want to resolve claims as quickly as possible, while also minimizing the amount they have to pay.

After the collision, your insurer may start an inquiry into the incident. If you’re eligible to file a lawsuit, you and your lawyer can draft a letter of demand, and send it to the opposing party’s insurance. This letter requests a certain amount to be paid so that you can cover the losses you sustained. The negotiation process will then begin.

If you and the other party agree to an amount, you will sign the appropriate paperwork to receive the funds you need. Most settlements take a few weeks to a few months.

Car accidents that result in catastrophic injuries, like traumatic brain injuries, and those that involve many parties can take longer. Other factors that could impact how long the settlement takes are the strength of the evidence, and your attorney’s negotiation skills.

Pros of Settling Your Car Accident Case

Car accident lawsuits can be stressful, especially when you’re dealing with serious injuries. A settlement can allow you to quickly get the help you need. Compared to trials, settlements are generally much faster.
Settlements can also be more affordable than going to trial. Although you don’t have to pay upfront fees when you hire a personal injury lawyer, once the claim is resolved, your lawyer will receive payment for the work they’ve done. If they’ve gone through an entire trial, you can expect that more of your winnings will cover these fees.

A settlement can also give you more control over the outcome. You can negotiate until you’ve come up with a compromise that works for everyone. That’s not the case with a trial, though. Once the court makes a decision, you must all abide by it.

Another important benefit of settlements is that they’re private. No one needs to know how much you received. That wouldn’t be the case if you go to trial, since all of these proceedings are public.

The stress of going to court can be overwhelming. If you’re struggling with significant injuries, knowing you have to go through this long process may only add to the distress you’ve experienced.

Cons of Settling Your Car Accident Case

Settling your car accident lawsuit often means getting less than you might have received in court. This is because negotiating with insurance companies can involve making some compromises on compensation.
There’s no guarantee of fairness with a settlement. In a court trial, you have an impartial judge or jury looking over the car accident lawsuit, so you may be much more likely to get a fair deal.

With a settlement, you also have no opportunity to appeal. Once you’ve signed the paperwork, including release forms, you can no longer bring up the claim. This is a serious issue if you’re pressured to accept the settlement, which can occur if you don’t have a lawyer representing you.

Insurance companies may do everything they can to push you into accepting a lower amount. They might delay the process to tire you out, or even threaten not to pay at all so that you’ll accept any low offer they present. You may then learn later that the settlement you received isn’t enough to cover all of your medical expenses.

Understanding Car Accident Trials

If a settlement isn’t possible, or you choose to go to trial, the next step in the process begins with you filing a car accident lawsuit. This involves a formal request in court. Making the request triggers the discovery process, which is when both sides exchange information and evidence.

There might also be depositions. Witnesses and experts will provide their testimonies on what they saw the day of the accident, or what they believe happened. These are sworn testimonies.

Your lawyer will use all of that information to prepare a strong case and begin pretrial motions. These motions help settle some legal issues before the trial starts.

The trial itself allows both parties to present evidence, call witnesses, and state their cases. Once they have done so, the court makes a ruling. Some cases will depend on a judge, while others will involve a jury. All parties will listen to each side, and make an impartial decision.

Trials can take a long time. The process of discovery alone could take weeks, and because you depend on the court system, you’ll have to wait until there’s an opening. That could mean further waiting.

Pros of Taking Your Car Accident Case to Trial 

Taking your car accident lawsuit to trial gives you the chance to obtain higher compensation than you would receive in a settlement. Juries sometimes award significant amounts for the injuries you suffered. There is also the chance of being granted punitive damages, which are not available in settlements.

Additionally, during a trial, you receive a full disclosure of the evidence involving the collision. In a settlement, you may not have every detail, which can prevent you from preparing as strong of a case as you would have otherwise.

Vitally, a trial will hold the other parties accountable for their conduct. Trials are public, as are the rulings. It can be a good way of preventing those at fault from doing the same thing in the future. Because these accidents involve negligence or misconduct, having a public resolution can alert others about potential dangers.

Cons of Taking Your Car Accident Case to Trial

Trials are much longer and more complex procedures than settlements. You can spend months waiting for a resolution, which means you continue to suffer losses in the form of missing income and medical expenses. In the most complicated cases, years can go by while you wait to go to trial. 

Trial means higher legal fees because the process requires a lot more time and effort. Everything from depositions to arguing in court means additional costs. Although you don’t have to pay these unless you win, it can still be stressful to think of your award being diminished by more legal fees every time there’s another delay. 

The outcome is also less predictable. The defendant may represent a very strong case that could leave you with full liability for the accident, which won’t allow you to recover compensation. 

Added to all of that is the stress involved with going to court. You might be struggling with mobility issues because of the collision, or could have emotional trauma that makes relieving the accident very difficult. 

Factors To Consider When Choosing Between Settlement and Trial

You and your lawyer should take some time to decide whether settling or going to trial is the right choice. To make this decision, consider the strength of the evidence that you have proving the other party is liable.
If you have believable eyewitness statements, and pictures or traffic camera videos that clearly show what happened, then going to trial could be helpful. If, however, there are contradictory accounts, or you’re not sure whether you were partly to blame for the accident, it can be better to stick to a settlement.

The severity of the injuries you suffered is another factor to keep in mind. If you’ve sustained life-altering injuries that will prevent you from living your life as you used to, you’ll need substantial compensation. That might not be feasible with a settlement.

Consider your own state of mind. Can you withstand a trial? If you’re battling issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, facing court proceedings about the accident might not be wise.

Take a look at the financial implications of going to trial. Ask your attorney for an idea of the kind of fees you can expect. This can give you a better sense of whether you should pursue a trial.

Your personal preferences should also come into play in this decision. If you don’t want to put the claim in the hands of a judge or jury, then a settlement could be the better choice.

Get Trusted Legal Help for Your Car Accident Lawsuit

If you’ve been in a car accident, filing a lawsuit to recover the losses you’ve sustained can seem like an impossible legal process to go through. With an experienced Miami car accident lawyer on your side, you have the opportunity to get the help you deserve.

At Bernstein & Maryanoff, Injury Attorneys, we’ve protected injured victims in Florida since 1983.

Contact our team to schedule a free consultation to find out how we can help you today.

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