Managing the Aftermath of a Serious Accident
After suffering a wrongful injury in Dothan, AL, you may be wondering what steps to take next. Whether you were involved in a serious motor vehicle accident or you slipped and fell on someone else’s property, recovering compensation may be a necessary part of your recovery—particularly if you have racked up costly medical expenses and forfeited a substantial amount of income in the wake of the accident. For this reason, it may be in your best interests to seek damages from the responsible party. If you are opposed to the idea of undergoing a civil trial, however, you may want to dismiss your case completely. This is, unfortunately, a problem that many wrongfully injured victims face.
The Dothan personal injury attorneys at Morris, Andrews, Talmadge & Driggers, LLC understand that the idea of taking your case in court may seem daunting, but we would also like to call attention to the fact that this is not the only way in which you can recover compensation. In fact, about 95% of all personal injury cases are settled long before they go to trial. For this reason, we encourage you to, at the very least, speak to a lawyer about your case before dismissing the idea completely. In doing so, you can ensure that you fully understand your legal options and that you do not jeopardize your chances of obtaining damages unnecessarily.
Settling Your Injury Claim Outside of Court
Generally speaking, most personal injury cases will be settled outside of court. This is typically because most people do not want to undergo the hassle of a trial—therefore making it easier to negotiate upon a fair settlement. In some cases, the wrongfully injured victim can even handle these negotiations without the assistance of legal counsel.
It is when the other party is unwilling to make a reasonable offer that a personal injury case can become contentious, as the plaintiff will only be left with two options: accept the settlement or move forward with a trial. Even if they choose the latter, however, it is still not guaranteed that they will see the inside of a courtroom. Usually, further negotiations will ensue before the case goes to trial, or before the jury announces a verdict.
What are the advantages of going to trial?
If you have been engaged in negotiations with the insurance company for an extended period of time and they still remain unwilling to make an acceptable offer, it may be in your best interests to push forward with a trial. Although this may be a step that you do not want to take, it could prove to be extremely beneficial. With the qualified guidance of a Dothan injury lawyer, you would be able to pursue the level of compensation that you actually deserve. Since it would be up to a jury to decide upon an appropriate award, you could potentially recover a lot more money that the other party was ever willing to offer. On the opposite side of the spectrum, however, you must also take into consideration that you could lose. For this reason, this decision should be made carefully.
Weighing Your Options in Dothan, AL
Making the decision to go to trial is never easy, but it is important that you take the time to weigh the advantages and disadvantages. Many people are scared that they could lose their case—which is a possibility that should always be taken into consideration—but it is equally important to examine the potential benefits. For this reason, you should not hesitate to mull over this decision under the advisement of a knowledgeable attorney.
At Morris, Andrews, Talmadge & Driggers, LLC, we have helped countless individuals to make a practical decision about their future, and in many cases, we were able to assist them in recovering compensation.
In fact, our firm was able to win the largest jury verdict in the history of Alabama ($21,000,000). Because of this, we encourage you to let us put our extensive experience to work for you.
All it takes is one phone call to get started, so we ask you to contact our firm today at (844) 654-6228 for a free initial consultation. You can even reach us online by filling out and submitting our online contact form directly from our website. Either way you choose to get in touch, we look forward to hearing from you soon.
