If you’ve had an accident, you probably expected the insurance company to send you a settlement check right away. Cue shock and disappointment when insurance decides to play hardball. An adjuster may throw you a low settlement offer, or they may refuse to pay for non-economic damages. Whatever the case, you’re wondering if you’ll ever have that settlement money in your hands.
Do personal injury lawyers go to court? If necessary, yes. Discover a few reasons your lawyer might want to take your case to court below.
Reasons Personal Injury Lawyers Go to Court
Will your case go to trial? Maybe. The vast majority of personal injury cases settle out of court, but in some situations, your case might go to trial before a judge or jury. Here are a few situations when your lawyer may prefer to go to court.
Lowball Settlement Offers
This is probably the number one reason personal injury cases go to court. Often, insurance adjusters will give you a lowball settlement offer out of the gate. You can usually negotiate for more, but sometimes, the adjuster will refuse to budge and say, “Take it or leave it.”
This may be because they think you’re partially at fault, or maybe they believe you’re exaggerating your injuries. Regardless of the reason, if the insurance company offers a pitiful settlement and won’t negotiate, your lawyer will likely want to go to court.
Disputes About Liability
It’s often possible to prove who is at fault for an accident with a few strong pieces of evidence. In some cases, though, it’s unclear who is liable. Disputes over liability are common for accidents that involve multiple parties.
For example, suppose that you were involved in a multi-car pileup on the freeway. Maybe the driver in front of you slammed on their brakes, causing you to hit them. In turn, the driver behind you rear-ended your car. Who’s at fault here? If it’s difficult to tell, a lawyer might take the case to court.
Bad-Faith Insurance Practices
Do personal injury lawyers go to court over bad-faith insurance practices? Yes, they do. If an insurance company is acting unreasonably, going to court might be the only way to fully recover damages.
Bad-faith practices include:
- Not answering your phone calls or emails
- Denying your claim for no reason
- Refusing to pay a valid claim
- Delaying payments
- Misrepresenting policy terms
Disagreements Over Damages
Sometimes, the insurance company may disagree on the value of your personal injury claim. An adjuster might say that your car is worth less than its true value, for example, or that your medical bills are unreasonable.
Insurance companies commonly fight over non-economic damages. This is because assigning an accurate value to pain and suffering is difficult. If you’re so injured that you can’t climb out of bed, you might think that’s worth $50,000 or more. The insurance company, however, might downplay the claim by knocking off a zero.
Of course, lawsuits seeking damages under a certain amount can be brought in a small claims court. However, limits vary across different states. In Virginia, judgments of up to $5,000 can be brought to small claims court, a considerably lower figure than California small claims courts’ $12,500 limit.
High-Value Cases
If your case is of a particularly high value, your attorney will likely want to go to court. You stand a better chance of fully recovering damages in court compared to accepting a settlement offer.
Will Your Case Go to Trial? Call Our Firm To Find Out
Do personal injury lawyers go to court? If necessary, yes. Most cases settle outside of court, but your attorney will fight for you in a trial if need be.
If you have questions about pre-trial jury selection or want to know whether your case will go to court, call Geoff McDonald & Associates, P.C., at 804-552-3173 or online for a free consultation.
