What Percentage of Personal Injury Cases Actually Go To Trial?

Interviewer: In these cases, do the insurance companies or corporations usually settle or do they usually have to go to trial?

A Very Small Number of Personal Injury Cases Go To Trial; the Majority Settle Prior to Trial

Stephen: I would say only five percent of my cases ultimately get tried. I settle ninety-five percent of our cases. Of the cases that settle, about half of them settle pre-suit without having to go into litigation.

Approximately Half of the Cases Settle after Litigation Has Started

The other half settle after you’ve filed a lawsuit but before you get to trial. About five percent of the cases end up in trial. If a case ends up in trial, it’s because usually there’s a problem on the case.

Interviewer: Do people perceive that, “Oh, I’m just going to retain an attorney and the rest is easy,” or do they, how do they react to this? Are they afraid to go through with the case? Does the other side make them feel like “bad people” for pursuing a claim?
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For a Successful Outcome in a Personal Injury Case, It Is Vital to Place Your Faith and Trust in Your Personal Injury Attorney

Stephen: When people hire me, I ask them to put their full faith, trust in me and confidence in me. I think that the clients generally know that they’re being represented by extremely effective counsel and I don’t think that my clients are concerned at all.

I haven’t ever felt that they have and I know that they shouldn’t be because, I mean this in a humble way, but I’m one of the top trial attorneys in Easton. They are in the best place that they can be and I think they feel that. They know what kind of representation they’re getting with my firm.

There Are Options If You Have Lost Income and Cannot Meet Your Financial Obligations while the Case Is Pending

Interviewer: What happens if someone has medical injuries and they can’t work? How are they supposed to make ends meet while they’re waiting for a settlement or an award?

Stephen: That’s handled on a case by case basis but we do have relationships with litigation finance companies. On the appropriate case, they’ll do pre-suit funding for lost wages.

If You Have Been Injured, It Is Recommended to Seek Medical Care until You Have Reached Maximum Medical Improvement

Interviewer: What is the average amount of time it takes people to recover their health after an accident?

Stephen: It depends on the case. My clients are treated until they reach what I refer to as maximum medical improvement, meaning they’ve fully recovered or they’ve gotten as good as they’re going to get.
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How Long May It Take to Pursue a Personal Injury Claim?

Interviewer: How long do cases take, on average, if they settle or if they settle either before after litigation or if they go to trial?

Stephen: It depends on the nature of the injuries, because there is a certain point in time when they tell the nature of the injury and you know with reasonable certainty what the future’s going to hold for that person; what their prognosis is.

A Personal Injury Case Should Not Be Resolved until It Is Known with Certainty What the Injured Party’s Ultimate Prognosis Will Be

It’s very adverse to client’s interests to settle a case until you know with certainty what their future’s going to hold, because settlement’s a one-time settlement.

Some People Are Misled about Insurance Companies True Intentions and Delay in Retaining a Personal Injury Attorney to Act on Their Behalf

Interviewer:  Are there any other issues that you suspect hold people back from contacting an attorney in a case like this?

Stephen: I think naively trusting in all of the misinformation that’s put out by insurance companies. As I said, insurance companies advertise to earn public trust. They spend literally billions of dollars to make you think they’re on your side or they are “Like a good neighbor.”

Interviewer: Thing is too, attorneys that deal with car crashes, they’re perceived to be the bad guys and they call them ambulance chasers.

Stephen: We’re the good guys. I’m the good guy; I can tell you that, I can. Insurance companies spend literally I think billions of dollars on campaigns of misinformation and propaganda.
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