I would like to preface this article by saying that I enjoy courtroom work and handling jury trials. However, as an experienced trial lawyer in the Douglas County. GA, I approach each car and truck accident case with an eye toward an acceptable settlement for my clients, if possible. While settlement is not right in every case, the risks of a jury trial can be great. The decision to settle or go to trial should carefully made and can only be made in a case-by-case basis with the guidance of an experienced attorney.
The New York Times recently published an article declaring that, for accident victims, it may be a wise decision to settle a case rather than take it to the courtroom. According to a study that will be published in the September issue of the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, plaintiffs were wrong in 61% of cases, meaning that they ended up with less money following a trial than if they were to have settled beforehand. Comparatively, only 24% of defendants were wrong to go to trial. On average, getting it wrong costs plaintiffs $43,000.00. “The lesson for plaintiffs is, in the vast majority of cases, they are perceiving the defendant’s offer to be half a loaf when in fact it is an entire loaf or more,” said Randall L. Kiser, a co-author of the study and principal analyst at DecisionSet, a consulting firm that advises clients on litigation decisions. According to this same study, the majority of cases do settle.
My Atlanta area law firm offers free consultations to those who have a work injury or who have been injured in an automobile accident or truck accident.
