When we first meet with a car accident victim, one of the first things they tell us is that they want the other defendant to pay for what they did. They usually follow this question up with another one – how much their case is worth. These are two completely reasonable questions, and we would ask the same thing if it was our case. However, your Athens car accident lawyer doesn’t know exactly what your case is worth. They also have no way to guarantee you that you’ll receive anything at all. Rather than risk the chance of losing your case at trial, you are Athens car accident lawyer will suggest that you settle your case out of court.
As soon as we mention the word settlement, our clients start to worry a little bit. They tell us that they want to get justice and they want someone to hold the defendant responsible for what they did. We try to explain that the best way to hold somebody accountable it’s to make them pay financially. We then asked them what would happen if the case went to trial, and they lost. That’s when it finally sinks in that a settlement is usually your best option.
Here, we will discuss why it makes sense to settle your case. While there are times when it makes sense to go to trial, these cases are few and far between. In fact, more than 95% of all personal injury cases in Georgia settle out of court. Our goal is to get you as much money as possible. What we suggest is that you contact our office as soon as possible after your accident. This way you can schedule your free, initial consultation over the phone and find out what your options are.
There’s Never Any Guarantee That You’ll Win Your Case
As much as we don’t like to remind our clients of this fact, there is never a guarantee that you’ll win at trial. In fact, no matter how strong you think your evidence is, you have a 50/50 chance of winning. This means that you also have a 50/50 chance of losing. Our attorneys have no idea going into trial whether the judge will accept all our evidence. We are also never sure of exactly what evidence the defendant has. A surprise in the middle of trial is never a good thing. Rather than risk you walking away with nothing, we do our best to negotiate a fair settlement of your case.
A Settlement Means a Lump Sum Payment
The other nice thing about settling your case is that you almost always get an initial lump sum payment. Even if your settlement involves payment overtime, it is still consistent money coming in on a periodic basis. If you go to trial and win, you may never see a dime of your money. For all you know, the insurance company could close their doors tomorrow. Or, if you had to sue the defendant personally, you may find out that they have no assets, and you have no way to get your money. When this sort of thing happens, our Athens car accident lawyers we’ll do our best to console you, but there isn’t much more we can do.
It Can Take Over a Year for Your Case to Go to Trial
One benefit of settling your case rather than going to trial is that your case will be resolved much more quickly. During normal times, it can take over a year before your case is scheduled to go to trial. Right now, the civil courts in Georgia are still trying to address the backlog of cases that built up during the COVID pandemic. This means it could be much longer than a year before your case goes before a judge.
Trials Are Very Expensive and You’ll Have to Reimburse Your Athens Car Accident Lawyer
While we are happy to offer a free consultation to new clients, we are still running a business. We don’t make our clients pay us anything upfront. We cover any costs or fees associated with your case. However, at some point, your Athens car accident lawyer will expect to be reimbursed. When you do win your case, or settle down the road, you’ll be expected to pay your attorney back every dime that they paid for you during the case. if your case goes to trial, it could very well cost over $10,000 in costs alone. Your attorney will likely need to pay for depositions, court reporters, expert witnesses, and even accident reconstruction specialists.
Our Georgia Injury Lawyers Are Very Experienced at Negotiating Settlements
One of the reasons you hire an Athens car accident lawyer is because they know the law. Our attorneys have decades of combined experience handling car accident cases and have negotiated hundreds, if not thousands of settlements over the years. There’s a reason why they’ve settled so many cases. It’s because very few cases need to go to trial. It’s also because trials are expensive and time-consuming, and they don’t make a lot of sense. It makes more sense to settle for a guaranteed amount of money now then hope that you win your case when it goes to trial a year or two from now.
Rather than watch our clients risk losing, we always try to negotiate a fair settlement on their behalf. Our Georgia injury lawyers are familiar with most of the insurance companies in this area and know which ones are likely to settle and which ones are not. We also know how the insurance adjusters operate when it comes to a car accident claim. In a way, your Athens car accident lawyer has more control over your settlement then they would if you went the trial. With the settlement, they don’t run the risk that certain pieces of evidence will be excluded by the judge. They also don’t run the risk of a jury or a judge finding in favor of the defendant.
Understand that a lot of car accident victims are confused and are not sure what they’re supposed to do. This is why we offer all potential clients a free, initial consultation. This gives you a chance to sit down with one of our experienced Georgia injury lawyers and have them review your case. They will also answer any questions you may have and give you an idea of what they think your case may be worth. Since the consultation is free, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.