After being in a car accident, you would want to pay for your damages using the liable party’s insurance. There are usually three ways you can do that. You can either file an insurance compensation claim directly with the other party’s insurer, conduct a mediation, or file a personal injury lawsuit with the help of a Salem Oregon personal injury lawyer.
The lawsuit procedure occurs in court, while the other two take place outside of court and do not involve the law. You may think that settling outside of court will cost less money and save your time, and you may be right. However, along with advantages, there are several disadvantages of out-of-court settlements that you need to know before taking a step further.
Advantages for settling out of court
- Reduced expense.
It is no secret that taking a case to court from the beginning can cost you a lot of money. A personal injury case involves meetings with your attorney, gathering evidence, preparing motions, planning things out, etc., all of which require attorney fees. You may also have to pay for experts and witnesses. Moreover, you may also have to miss several days of work. An out-of-court settlement can reduce some of these costs.
- You save time.
Court cases can take months or even years to reach an end. You may have to attend various hearings before the judge finalizes a decision. Out-of-court settlements resolve in a few weeks and sometimes even days; therefore, you save a lot of time.
- You have more control over your case.
Taking matters to court makes the outcome unpredictable. You can present your best argument and evidence and still not get the compensation you deserve. On the other hand, outside court, you have the power to decide what exactly you want as you have the freedom to work with the other party independently.
Disadvantages of settling out of court
- Imbalance of power.
Outside-of-court meetings do not always work for everyone. If one party has a dominant personality and the other party has a submissive one, the latter may feel intimidated and manipulated. One party may manipulate another into thinking that a lower settlement is what they deserve. In such cases, the court can decide better.
- Cannot pursue legal action.
When you decide to pursue an out-of-court settlement and sign an agreement mentioning the finalized settlement, you lose your right to take any further legal action. For example, if you later decide that your award money is too low, you would be unable to take the matter to court.
