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An argument comes to an end when the 2 sides of a personal injury claim elect to settle that same case. The 2 sides may still maintain a certain level of disagreement, but both have shaped the future nature of that same disagreement.
Benefits of electing to settle:
The results of the negotiations have become predictable. This feature contrasts sharply with a court-ordered settlement, where neither side can predict what the judge and jury will say. The process gets carried out in a relatively short period of time. A court trial can drag on for months.
Neither side has to worry about the possibility that the other party might seek to appeal the decision. The plaintiff cannot seek more money; the defendant cannot seek denial of the payment that has been promised to the plaintiff.
No statement made during the course of the negotiations gets placed in a public record. That is another feature that contrasts sharply with the features of a trial. During a trial every statement gets recorded, and it then gets placed in the public record. In other words, those that participate in a trial sacrifice their privacy.
During negotiations, the emotional stress on the victim comes under consideration. Its existence helps to determine the size of the victim’s monetary award. In a courtroom, issues that relate to the victim’s emotional stress cannot be presented. The jury does not consider that stress, when determining the size of the plaintiff’s compensation package.
The major drawback to settling:
It can prove difficult for the victim of an accident to know when to settle and that is why it is important to work with personal injury lawyer in North Bay. Insurance companies, welcome acceptance of an early settlement, because it can guarantee payment to the victim of a smaller amount of money. Sometimes, a victim can develop additional medical problems, when a settlement has been delayed.
Soft tissue injuries, such as whiplash associated disorders often develop following a car accident. The symptoms linked to that sort of injury tend to manifest themselves slowly over time. Consequently, a victim might have to deal with new symptoms after having accepted an early settlement, in response to an insurance company’s pressure.
Traumatic brain injuries can also result from an automobile accident. Such an injury triggers the development of multiple symptoms, which make their appearance slowly, over a prolonged period of time. Moreover, each symptom tends to signal a worsening of the victim’s condition.
In other words, a family might think that one member has escaped any injury, and might thus base the settlement figure on the minor injuries of the other family members. Then 2 to 3 years later, it might become obvious that the one family member actually suffered a traumatic brain injury, one caused by the forceful impact at the time of the collision.