When To Settle & When To Go To Court

Personal injury lawsuits can take a long time to get to court, and once a date is set, the hearing itself can drag on. If you’ve filed a personal injury lawsuit against a person or company, you may be offered a settlement in the meantime. You must discuss the settlement with your personal injury attorney in Delaware County, PA before making any moves. It helps to understand why people offer settlements and what you need to look for before you accept or refuse.

Why Someone Would Offer You a Settlement

If someone offers you a settlement, you know you’ve got an advantage. You may have enough evidence for your case that the other party fears being stuck with an order to pay you a huge sum, so they hope they can avoid that by offering you a smaller amount early. They may not want to risk having the record of a loss, or they may simply not want to go to court at all.

What Should You Look at When Offered a Settlement?

First, you need to ensure the settlement amount is reasonable. It needs to cover approximately what you need to cover medical bills, lost wages, and so on. A settlement amount that’s too small isn’t going to help you, and the point of your personal injury case is to get enough money that you can cover bills and the like.

You should also consider how long the case is predicted to go on and how soon you need money. As you’re waiting for your court date, your bills are also piling up. If you have the savings to allow you to pay those and wait for the court date, a settlement might not be the optimal route. But if the court date is far away, and you need cash to stave off defaulting on bills, a settlement is definitely something to consider. But again, you need to discuss it with your lawyer first.

When Should You Refuse a Settlement?

If a settlement offer won’t meet your financial needs, it is not wise to accept it. But that isn’t the only time you should consider refusing the settlement. If your case is so good that you’re almost certainly going to win, according to your lawyer, then you need to consider refusing the settlement. You don’t want to put yourself in a terrible financial spot, but this could be a time when rejecting the settlement offer and letting the case go to court is better.

Always Discuss Settlement Offers With Your Lawyer

Because so many factors go into offering, accepting, and rejecting settlements, you’ll want to discuss your options with your lawyer before making a decision. The lawyer may see something in the offer that you don’t, and that could change your mind about accepting or rejecting a settlement. Katz Injury Law can help you sift through the details to determine whether a settlement is worth it. If you need an accident lawyer serving Philadelphia, call Katz Injury Law now.