This makes it difficult to estimate a typical amount of compensation even for cases of the same type.Ī car accident involving a broken arm is going to be different than a car accident causing a severed hand.
Compensation is based on the amount of damages caused, or at least it’s supposed to be.
The plaintiff can simply drop the case, but the judge can also dismiss either based on motions of the parties-basically one side or the other asks the judge to dismiss-or sua sponte (on the court’s own accord).Ĭompensation in personal injury cases is based on the facts of each case. Cases can be dismissed at any time and for a variety of reasons. Of course, there’s another possible outcome besides settling or reaching a verdict. You’ll either end up with an amount greater than the settlement, or you’ll end up with nothing. If you reject it, statistically speaking, your chances are about 50/50. What this means for someone considering a settlement offer is that, if you accept the settlement offer, you are 100% guaranteed to get the amount being offered. Plaintiffs were only successful in 19% of medical malpractice trials.The highest success rate was in auto accident cases, at 61%.Of all the personal injury cases that went all the way to verdict, the success rate for plaintiffs was about 50%.Department of Justice, only 4% to 5% of personal injury cases go all the way to trial.Ī study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2005 found that: Personal injury lawsuits almost always end in settlements. There’s a reason why we have sayings like “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” For most plaintiffs, a guaranteed settlement sum is better than a gamble on the verdict, even if the verdict amount might be a lot higher. The defendant-the party accused of causing the harm- offers to pay something now to avoid the expense of the trial. The plaintiff-that’s the person who was harmed and is suing-risks taking a lesser amount than they might get from a verdict. The way that settlements are negotiated can be tricky for both sides. A settlement is an agreement for the plaintiff to take a specified sum in exchange for not pursuing the case in court. No matter what stage of the case a settlement is reached in a personal injury case, the function is the same. And a settlement can be reached at literally any stage of the case - from before the case is even filed to after the case is over (when the winning side will offer to settle to prevent the losing side from appealing).
Would you believe that the statistics for civil cases are similar?Įstimates vary, but somewhere between about 95% of civil cases reach settlements at some stage. It’s true, more than 94% of criminal cases are resolved through a plea bargain rather than going to trial. You may have heard about how many criminal cases are settled without a trial.
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