Personal Injury Lawyers Austin » Settling Car Accident Cases

//Personal Injury Lawyers Austin » Settling Car Accident Cases

Personal Injury Lawyers Austin » Settling Car Accident Cases

Personal Injury Lawyers » Settling Car Accident Cases

Car Accident Settlements Austin, Texas

Many car accidents do not have to reach the court; Often times, a settlement is reached soon after a complaint is filed with the appropriate court. As a plaintiff, the aggrieved party filing suit, you have the obligation of providing all the evidence to prove your case. This task is much harder than the prior statement implies. There are evidentiary standards that an attorney, like those at our firm, have studied and practiced extensively to prove your case by a preponderance of the evidence. In our history of cases that have settled, we have found that although there is a strict burden on the plaintiff, if the burden can be met the threat of litigation and taking a case in front of a jury is enough of a threat to the defendant that they would rather settle out of court than face a trial by jury.car accident lawyers austin

What Exactly is a Settlement?

What is referred to as a settlement is in fact more appropriately called a “settlement agreement”. It is at its most fundamental a civil contract between the parties that puts rights and obligations on both parties involved in the settlement agreement. The most common form of settlement agreement is the payment of monetary compensation to the plaintiff in exchange for the plaintiff’s agreement to drop all current and future civil litigations against the defendant. A vast majority of the time settlement agreements include a non-disclosure clause where the parties are prevented from ever publicly discussing the terms of the settlement agreement.

Why is it Called a Settlement?

Fundamentally, the term “settlement” means that both parties are giving up a fight and settling for something less than a complete victory. The plaintiff is giving up his lawsuit and taking less of an award than may have been available. The defendant is paying out an amount of money when he could have paid nothing.
Does this mean you are going to lose money in your case? Not necessarily. Depending on the facts of your case, an experienced attorney can get you an award that you would be happy with and will compensate you for your injury. Because settlement agreements are built on the premise that both parties must agree to the settlement before it can take effect, you can decline the settlement agreement any time prior to agreeing to the settlement. As your attorneys we will never force you to accept a settlement agreement that you are not satisfied with.

Why Should I Settle if I Have a Good Case? Shouldn’t I go to Trial?

A “good case” is a matter of perspective and in the end whether you have a good case is up to a jury. No matter what the facts or legal issues in a case, a jury trial is always at its heart a gamble. There are no guarantees and many times it is better to take the safe road and know the outcome of your lawsuit rather than playing dangerously and gambling with the results of your case. Something can always go wrong and juries can be hard to predict. Our attorneys have years of experience dealing with juries and jury trials. If our attorneys advise you that you should consider settlement, it does not necessarily mean you have a bad case, it could mean there are unknown variables were something could go wrong and you should consider your attorney’s advise seriously.car wreck lawyers

Advantages of Settling

The biggest advantage of a settlement agreement is that you are getting a guaranteed result. Knowing in advance the resolution of your claim means that you can entirely avoid the uncertainty of a trial and rogue jurors. Additionally, a civil jury can only award monetary damages. In the case of a settlement agreement a clause can be included to either require or prohibit the defendant to conduct an activity. For example if you are settling with a defendant drunk driver who injured you, you can help reform them by requiring that they attend a program to rehabilitate alcoholics.

Do you have a legal issue or question? Call us now.

What Makes a Defendant Want to Settle?

Fear of the uncertainty of a trial makes a defendant want to settle. In the case of insurance carriers who are defendants, they care only about their bottom line. If it is financially better for them to settle than to go to trial then they will want to settle. That means a plaintiff has to build the strongest case possible in order to intimidate them into settling. Only when you show an insurance carrier defendant that you have built a strong case and there is the possibility that they will lose at trial, will they then agree to sit down and negotiate a settlement. In order to build your strongest case possible, you need the help of our law office. Our attorneys will work to determine the best option for your case and, if settlement is the best option for your case, we will work to build the strong case possible and to force the defendant to offer you a complete and fair settlement agreement. More on this website @ https://el-paso-auto-accident.com/car-accident-lawyer/

By | 2019-08-23T20:55:46+00:00 August 23rd, 2019|Blog|0 Comments

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