Answering Your Questions About Personal Injury Settlements
Viloria, Oliphant, Oster & Aman, L.L.P. provide award-winning personal injury representation to clients who seek damages against people and companies that have seriously injured them. Our attorneys have extensive courtroom experience and have obtained millions of dollars on behalf of clients through settlements and trials.
While we aggressively prepare every case as if it will head to trial, we are very often able to obtain maximum compensation for our clients through settlement before it gets there. These are several questions that we often get about personal injury settlements.
Can You Refuse a Settlement Agreement?
Absolutely. A personal injury settlement is an agreement where an at-fault party pays financial damages to the victim and the victim agrees not to pursue additional damages against that party. If you do not agree with the responsible party’s offers, you have every right to pursue a personal injury lawsuit and bring your case to trial.
Should I Settle My Personal Injury Claim?
Every claim is different and there is no “right” answer to this question. There are many factors our attorneys consider when analyzing the strength of a personal injury claim. Some of these include the nature of the incident(s) causing injury, the degree of your injuries and recovery prospects, medical expenses and lost wages, the parties who may be found responsible, and the extent to which the responsible parties are insured. Our attorneys provide honest, no-nonsense legal advice to our clients as to their best courses of action.
Are Out-of-Court Settlements Better?
Trials are time-consuming and hard-fought. It takes a lot of your energy and emotional strength to sit through a trial and invasive questions from the attorneys for the responsible parties. Further, the outcomes are entirely in the hands of a jury of your peers. So even if you have a personal injury claim that seems like a sure-thing winner, it may not be. A jury has the sole discretion when it comes to believing what witnesses say, and might not find you or your expert witnesses credible when you testify. Further, juries are tasked with determining what percentage of fault that each party bears. The jury may not agree with you as to who is at fault for your injuries.
Do Insurance Companies Want to Settle Quickly?
The risk associated with trial goes both ways. There is a chance that a jury may go for it and award damages that far exceed anyone’s expectations. Insurance companies are in the business of averting risk and paying out as little as possible. Further, taking a case to trial is incredibly expensive for insurance companies, who are trying to minimize the amount that they have to pay our overall for a personal injury claim. It is often worth it for insurance companies to pay a fair amount to settle a case than to pay that amount anyway PLUS the costs of a trial.
Call Viloria, Oliphant, Oster & Aman L.L.P.
Viloria, Oliphant, Oster & Aman, L.L.P. provides award-winning personal injury representation to people who have been seriously injured by the negligence or recklessness of others. Our attorneys are experienced, smart, and highly effective. If you have been injured due to the negligence of another person or company, you deserve to seek maximum compensation in the form of financial damages.
If you need legal assistance, call Viloria, Oliphant, Oster & Aman L.L.P. today at (775) 227-2280 to schedule a free case consultation or contact our office through our website.