Do we go to court with my attorney or does my attorney settle it with the insurance company?
Ok, after being in a car accident 2 months ago with it being the other driver's fault, I'm not sure what to do. I know after my chiropractor tells me what my final condition is, my parents and I are going to an attorney to tell them everything. From time missed from work and what happened and what the injuries are (which the insurance company already knows). Then we have to tell them my final condition, how long I saw the chiropractor, how I can't sleep in my bed because it hurts my back too much, how I'm scared to drive and of all the people driving around me, and how it slows me down at work. (I know some will say be happy I'm alive, but if you were me and it was my fault and not his and he was hurt he would get all he could out of me). But the question is, will the attorney contact the insurance company and they settle what we get or do we have to actually go to court?? And if we go to court is it a jury trial or are we just there in front of the judge or what??
Answer:
Your insurance company should represent you on this. If you go to their attorney or hire one of your own, you will need to do what is known as a disclosure process called Discovery. This is where they take all of the information about your case and form an opinion as to wheither its worth their while to go to court. Typically, your insurance company will file a claim against their policy to get reimbursed for what they have paid to you under your coverage and their costs. They typically do not get involved in lawsuits for pain and suffering etc. Your private attorney will look at your evidence, and see how much this person is worth, and what are their policy limits. If the person was uninsured, and it can be determined that they have no assets, there is nothing you can do, a judgment would be a waste of your time. If they have a policy you can file a suit against them for the policy limits for pain and suffering. Their attorney will legally have a right to question you to try to determine, based on what you say the facts are, if he could beat your claim in court. In the long run, the courts will require you both to to go arbitration first and try to hammer it out and come to an agreement. You will be required to be there to testify. If all else fails, the case will go to court and you can certainly request a jury trial, that is your right. You will need to attend to testify.
95% of cases are settled out of court. if there is a court case, it will be years from now, so don't even think about it.
Usually if the other driver is at fault and they have the coverage and they get the doctor's report that states you have an injury they will make an offer of settlement and if it is acceptable to you you can sign a release and settle your case, if not you can sue and take it to court, but depending on your injuries and your particular case it may not be worth it. Hopefully you will be able to work it out before it resorts to that. I hope it works out for you.
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