One of the biggest fears many people have when they have been the victim of a car accident and have suffered a whiplash injury is that they will be required to appear in court if they choose to pursue compensation for their whiplash injuries. If this is your situation, don’t let this fear prevent you from seeking the compensation that you deserve for your injuries. There is no precise formula for determining which whiplash injury cases will end up in trial. Each whiplash injury accident case is unique and comes with a distinct set of facts and circumstances. Having said that, an experienced whiplash injury attorney should do everything possible to settle your case without the need for you to ever appear in a courtroom. You should never let your fear of a courtroom prevent you from seeking the compensation to which you are entitled.
At the law firm of Ledger & Associates, approximately 95% of all car accident cases are settled without the need to file an actual lawsuit thereby eliminating the need to appear in court. With an experienced whiplash injury attorney handling your case, a settlement is likely. Your attorney will put together a demand package once your injuries have healed. The demand package will state what injuries you suffered, the cost of those injuries and the amount for which you are willing to settle. You and your attorney will then negotiate with the defendant or his insurance carrier until you reach an agreeable settlement amount.
There are, of course, a small number of cases where a trial becomes inevitable. The reason that a trial becomes necessary is usually because the parties cannot agree on negligence or cannot agree on compensation. Negligence is the legal term that basically means fault or blame. In order for a settlement agreement to be reached, the defendant must accept that he was negligent. In situations where the defendant does not accept responsibility for the accident a trial becomes inevitable. Another reason that a trial may become needed is if the defendant accepts responsibility but doesn’t agree to the amount of compensation you have asked for to settle your case. If you and your attorney do not believe that the defendant has offered a reasonable amount of money to compensate you for your injuries then you may make the decision to proceed to a trial and let a jury decide what your case is worth.
While it is very unlikely that you will need to go to court for your whiplash injury case, you should have an experienced California whiplash attorney by your side just in case a trial becomes necessary. The team at Ledger & Associates have been representing California whiplash injury victims for over a decade. If you have been involved in a California personal injury accident and would like a free and detailed evaluation of your potential whiplash injury case, please make an appointment with Ledger & Associates by telephoning (818) 660-1378 or 1-800-300-0001.
