A Settling Defendant Does Not Need to Admit Liability If a defendant loses at trial (or loses any subsequent appeals), he or she has been officially proven liable for the plaintiff’s injuries. If the parties settle, however, the defendant is not required to admit to liability. This may not be ideal for a plaintiff who [...]

Settlements are Private, Trials are Not Unless the judge orders the records sealed, which will rarely ever happen in a personal injury case, all the details of a trial are public record. This means all of the witness testimony, all of the evidence, everything the two sides used to make each other look as bad [...]

Trials are Stressful Although a typical personal injury trial will not last more than a few days, the process can be extremely stressful for everyone involved. Both parties can be subjected to examination and cross-examination on the witness stand, and have their character publicly called into question. In addition, the weeks leading up to a [...]

Trials are Expensive, Settling Doesn't Have to Be Typically, the injured person (the plaintiff) in a personal injury lawsuit will have a contingency fee arrangement with his or her attorney. The most common arrangement is that the attorney will receive 33% of any pre-trial settlement and 40% of any amount received after trial begins. A defendant will typically hire [...]