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Doing It Out of Court

BY Tony Francis | 04-02-2009 | 1:58 PM
This blog is written by a member of our blogging community and expresses that member's views alone.
If you're in the middle of a personal injury case and the opposing counsel makes a settlement offer, should you consider taking it?

Doing it out of court is sometimes the right answer to getting a case resolved, but that depends on the advice of your lawyer.

If you're in the middle of a personal injury case and the opposing
counsel makes a settlement offer, should you consider taking it? That
is the 64 million dollar question and there is usually more than one
answer to it as well. While an offer is definitely worth considering,
you and your personal injury lawyer will have to sit down and consider
the overall ramifications of accepting a settlement.

Settlements can take place before or after a compensation claim was
filed. If the offer for settlement is coming before you have filed a
claim, then the smartest move you can make is to talk to your lawyer.
Usually there is more to settlements than meet the eye, and even if you
think it looks good, your lawyer may discover a problem or potential
trap if you take the settlement at face value and run with it.

If the settlement offer comes after the claim has been filed, then
you already have a lawyer who will discuss this latest case development
with you before you make plans to proceed or settle out of court.
Something you should understand is that either party in a personal
injury case is able to make an offer of a settlement. In most
circumstances, however, it's the guilty party, etc. who makes overtures
of settlement. In some cases, a settlement is useful for both sides.

A good example is settling a personal injury case out of court. This
will speed up the time frame for receiving financial damages and allow
the injured party to get proper medical treatment a lot faster than
waiting for a jury trial and eventual settlement. In other words,
victims actually get the money when they need it. The bottom line is
that settling early saves both sides a lot of money in court costs and
attorney's fees.

You will tend to find that most insurance companies involved in
litigation are inclined to offer settlements, again because it is
faster and easier for them to deal with the personal injury claim in
this expeditious manner. Check out any offers of settling with your
experienced attorney who will advise you whether or not it is in your
best interest to proceed with a formal lawsuit or take the settlement.

Tony Francis is an Orlando personal injury lawyer. His practice
specializes in being an Orlando accident lawyer helping innocent
victims get compensation for their losses. To learn more about Orlando injury lawyer, Orlando personal injury lawyer, Orlando accident lawyer, Orlando injury attorney, visit Francislawgroup.com.