If you have been involved in a car accident in the state of California and the accident was not your fault, then you may have the basis for a personal injury lawsuit. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries as well as for your pain and suffering. In many cases, your car accident attorney can obtain a settlement for you without the need to go to court. If your accident was relatively minor and you were not seriously injured, you may be able to settle your case in a matter of weeks. If your car accident was more involved and your injuries more serious, then your accident may take months to settle.
Sometimes though, your car accident attorney is not able to reach an out of court settlement for your case. This may happen because the other driver is not willing to admit negligence (fault) or because you are not willing to accept the amount of money offered as compensation in your case. So what happens if your car accident case is not settled out of court? According to California car accident attorney Emery Ledger, the vast majority of car accident cases are settled out of court, but there are situations when it is in his client’s best interest to go to trial or when there is no other option but to go to trial.
On of the most common reasons that a car accident case is unable to be settled out of court and therefore must proceed to trial is that negligence has not been agreed to. Your car accident attorney can explain the intricacies of negligence in more detail, but basically negligence means fault. In cases where the person, company or entity that you feel is responsible for the accident does not agree that they were negligent, or they do not agree to the extent of their negligence, you will have no choice but to proceed to trial. California uses a comparative negligence approach to car accident cases which means that a party may agree they share SOME negligence for the accident but you may not agree on HOW MUCH. Your car accident attorney may feel that they are considerably more negligent for the accident that they are admitting. In that case, your car accident attorney will need to prove the extent of their negligence at trial.
Another situation in which your case will go to trial is where the amount of damages is not agreed upon. Sometimes the negligent party admits negligence but does not agree to the amount of money you are asking for in compensation for your injuries. The value of your car accident case can depend on many factors and your car accident attorney is in the best position to give you an estimate of its worth. Once your car accident attorney has advised you of the value of your case, he will make a demand of the negligent party for the amount you and he have agreed upon. If you and your car accident attorney are unable to obtain a settlement from the negligent party then you will need to proceed to trial.
If you have been injured in a California car accident and would like a free detailed evaluation of your case, please feel free to contact California car accident attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com
