Before someone hires accident lawyers in Oahu for representation in a personal injury case, the person may wonder whether these cases usually are successful. Do the cases typically go to trial or are attorneys generally successful at negotiating with insurance companies and other responsible parties?
Relevant Statistics
About 95% of personal injury cases are settled out of court. In addition, most injury cases are successful at providing financial compensation for the client. One reason for this is that accident lawyers in Oahu normally charge contingency fees instead of hourly rates. Their pay is contingent on the client receiving compensation.
Payout Types
The client may be offered a lump sum or a structured settlement that is made over time in numerous payments. The structured settlement may actually pay quite a bit more in total, but many people prefer to receive a large amount all at once.
Disadvantages of Trials
Settling out of court is usually preferable unless the client suffered such serious harm that a jury would very likely award the plaintiff a large amount of compensation. Otherwise, most people prefer to avoid the significant delays and the unpredictability involved with trials. There’s always the chance the jury will side with the opposition, which will leave the plaintiff with no compensation at all.
Many personal injury cases that go before a jury do not result in a successful outcome for the plaintiff. Nevertheless, insurers and other companies that are being approached for injury compensation still prefer to negotiate a settlement instead of going to trial. There’s always the risk that the jury will, this time, side with the plaintiff. In addition, going to court costs the company money in legal fees, and there is likely to be negative publicity as well.
A settlement can be negotiated by an organization such as Yoshida & Associates within a few months, but statistics show the wait for a civil trial can take more than two years. This depends on how busy the jurisdiction is and how successful the defense is at delaying the trial. More information on this particular organization can be found at Autoaccidentattorneyhonolulu.com.
