Do Most Personal Injury Cases Really Go To Trial?
Video Transcript
Very few personal injury cases go to trial—typically about 3–5%, with roughly 95–97% settling. Trials are costly, slow, and risky, so insurers and plaintiffs often resolve cases through negotiation or mediation. This article explains the trial odds and the factors that make a case more likely to reach court.
Ray Hrdlicka – Host- Attorneys.Media
“How many of those cases actually go to trial?”
Andrew Dósa – Personal Injury Lawyer – Oakland, CA
“Well, the answer is very, very few.”
Ray Hrdlicka – Host- Attorneys.Media
“That’s what I thought.”
Andrew Dósa – Personal Injury Lawyer – Oakland, CA
“Yes, there are very few criminal cases that go to trial and very few civil cases that go to trial. For the average simple case that is not substantial, there is no financial incentive to go to trial. If you knew you had to bring in your doctor to testify as an expert, and his doctor was going to cost you five to ten thousand dollars, and his case was worth If you knew you had to bring in your doctor to testify as an expert, and his doctor was going to cost you five to ten thousand dollars, and his case was worth $15,000, there just aren’t many attractive advantages at trial5,000, there just aren’t many attractive advantages at trial. So realistically, because the insurance company has that incredible amount of leverage in every case…”
Ray Hrdlicka – Host- Attorneys.Media
“They know going in what you’re going to have to do to show your side, so they can negotiate from that position of power.”