Pros and Cons of Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Pursuing a personal injury lawsuit does not necessarily have to be difficult or complex. It is the responsibility of your personal injury attorney to navigate through the legal process for you to make sure that you are constantly informed of your case and the different legal steps that must occur when filing for a claim. When filing a claim, your personal injury claim could either get settled, or it could go to trial.

Pursuing a personal injury lawsuit would be the next step if the settlement negotiations with the other side has failed. Our California personal injury attorneys have had decades of experience representing clients in personal injury lawsuits. Our aggressive attorneys are not afraid to take claims to trial in order to represent our clients’ rights.

Personal Injury Statistics in the United States

• Around 5% of personal injury claims make it to the courtroom. The rest of the claims are settled with the other side.
• There are about 31 million people that are injured each year that need medical treatment.
• There were about 24.8 million physician office visits for unintentional injuries in the last year.
• There were 97.9 million emergency department visits last year for unintentional injuries.
• 65,000 people passed away last year through an intentional accident.
• 37,000 people passed away last year through motor vehicle traffic deaths
• 39,000 people passed away last year through unintentional falls
• In 2019, the United States experienced 173,000 preventable deaths. This was a 3.5% increase from last year.
• The majority of accidents occurred at home.
• The second most common accident occurred in a motor vehicle.
• Third most common accident occurred at work (the most common work accidents being construction accidents).

What Are the Pros and Cons of Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

If you have suffered an injury because of another person’s negligence, you should not have to endure the financial losses. The other negligent party should be held responsible for your injuries. Our experienced attorneys believe that you should have the right to be compensated for your injuries. This includes compensation for medical bills, and lost wages as a result of the treatment.

In order to seek compensation from the other party, a claim must be filed against the other party. During this time, it is strongly advised to hire an attorney to help you go through the legal process. You should not have to go through this alone.

Pros of Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney

There are several different positive factors when hiring a personal injury attorney. These include:

• Having an attorney increases your chances of recovering compensation. Insurance companies oftentimes try to downplay their liability as much as possible, to instead hold the plaintiff liable for their own injuries. It is important to understand the legal jargon that they use.
• Having an attorney increases your chances of recovering higher damages. You will most likely be able to recover more damages when represented by an attorney than when representing yourself. It could be very difficult to represent yourself, especially because you are dealing with medical costs, and other treatment.
• Hiring an attorney saves time throughout the litigation process. An experienced personal injury attorney that has litigated several claims in the past is aware of the different steps it takes to litigate. The legal process can be very time-consuming, so it is advised to allow the other attorneys to handle it for you.
• Hiring an attorney reduces stress. While you focus on healing from your injuries, an attorney will navigate through the legal process to make sure that your rights are well-represented. This is probably one of the most important factors. It could be very difficult to manage your injuries, while also pursuing a legal claim against another party. This allows you to have your own space in order to heal from your injuries.
• Hiring an attorney will hold the defendant accountable for their actions. If a case does not end up settling, a lawsuit will make sure that the defendant is held accountable for their negligent actions that caused such injuries.
• You could receive a higher amount of damages in court than through the settlement. An insurance company will always try to downplay their settlement amount as much as possible. Turning down the insurance company’s low offer could allow you to recover much more in court. The court also takes non-economic damages into consideration, such as pain and suffering and emotional distress.

Cons of Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney

• Not hiring an attorney saves money. However, this may only be short-term. Attorneys may either have an hourly agreement or a contingency fee agreement. Our attorneys operate through a contingency fee agreement where clients do not have to pay for our attorneys up front.
• Juries could be very unpredictable. Allowing a couple people who have never had any legal experience to decide the entire outcome of the case could be a gamble.
• You have the burden of proof during the trial. Plaintiffs, since they are initiating the lawsuit, have the burden of proof during the lawsuit to show that the defendant has to duty, yet failed to act within that duty. Thus, if the jury is swayed in your favor, you could recover from your injuries. Many oftentimes consider this a gamble. If you settle with the other party, you do not have to face a judge or jury.

When to Sue for Personal Injury

If you believe that you or a loved one has suffered injuries as a result of someone else, and their negligence, you should then pursue a legal claim against them. It is advised to sue for personal injury in order to seek compensation for any injuries suffered.

Do You Need a Personal Injury Attorney?

Our California and Nevada personal injury attorneys are experienced in litigating claims and making sure that your rights are accurately represented. We believe that no person should have to endure any injuries and financial ruin because another party was at fault.

Contact our skilled personal injury attorneys today to take the necessary steps to pursue your legal claims. We offer a free no risk initial consultation, where we could determine the merits of your claim and look into the best legal options for you. We have represented clients in major cities in California and Nevada including: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Mountain View, Irvine, California City, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, Long Beach, Burbank, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Anaheim, Pasadena, Palm Springs, Riverside, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, San Bernardino, Santa Rosa, Fontana, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Ventura, Merced, Pomona, Sunnyvale, Newport Beach, Temecula, Palm Desert, Santa Clara, Redwood City, Las Vegas, Glendale, Oceanside, Big Bear, Inglewood, Compton, Palmdale, etc.

***Disclaimer: This page is created by Heidari Law Group for educational purposes. This article provides a general understanding of the law. It does not provide specific advice. By using this site and reading through this page, there is no attorney-client relationship created between you and any member of Heidari Law. Further, due to the constant change of the law, some parts of the information above may no longer be good law.