If you or somebody you care about has been injured due to the careless or negligent actions of another individual, business, or entity, then you should be able to recover compensation for your losses. The vast majority of personal injury cases in Kentucky are resolved through settlements with insurance carriers. However, there are times when a civil personal injury lawsuit becomes necessary. Here, we want to discuss the pros and cons of taking a personal injury settlement out of court as opposed to going all the way to trial.

Pros of Settling Out of Court

There are various reasons why settling out of court may be more beneficial to a personal injury victim. First and foremost, any person who has sustained an injury likely has immediate expenses that need to be taken care of. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Medical bills related to the injury
• Lost income if they cannot work while recovering
• General household out-of-pocket expenses
• Property damage expenses

These bills will begin coming in very soon after an injury occurs, and this can be intimidating. It is not uncommon for individuals to suffer from significant financial hardships as a result of sustaining an injury while they wait for a settlement from the at-fault party.

Settling out of court will generally take less time than taking a case all the way through the civil personal injury trial process.

Settling out of court will also typically be much less stressful on every party involved, something that is particularly important for the injury victim. In general, these types of settlements will remain private and out of public court records. Individuals will not have to worry about sitting for a deposition and being questioned by an opposing attorney.

Cons of Settling Out of Court

There are various reasons why settling out of court may be a bad idea. Insurance carriers are known to offer notoriously low settlement offers fairly quickly after an injury occurs in an effort to make the whole situation go away. Insurance carriers often get away with offering low settlements because they know that injury victims need cash fairly quickly.

Settling out of court could result in an injury victim receiving much less compensation than they would otherwise receive if they filed a personal injury lawsuit and pushed the case forward to a trial.

How Long Does a Settlement Take Compared To a Trial?

There is no set amount of time that it takes for a settlement to reach a conclusion for a personal injury case in Kentucky. In general, individuals can expect a settlement offer to come in within a few weeks after an injury occurs. However, negotiations between the injury victim’s attorney and the insurance carriers could take months and even up to a year.

Overall, individuals can expect a settlement to occur in a quicker timeframe than they would be able to expect a personal injury civil lawsuit to even reach a trial. When a case has to go all the way to trial, it could take years to even get in front of a jury.

If you or somebody you love has been injured due to the careless or negligent actions of another individual or entity in Kentucky, we strongly encourage you to reach out to an attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer will be able to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding your particular case and help advise you on the best steps moving forward.