Client Question: “Do I Have to go to Court?”

Like most sane people, most injured clients want to avoid the courtroom and jury if possible. While most lawyers like the drama of a courtroom and the moment where they stand in the spotlight to tell their clients’ stories, non-lawyers typically try to avoid it. Court, as we all know, is unpredictable and expensive. But sometimes, it simply cannot be avoided.

If you or a loved one are involved in a serious auto accident, it's important to know that your case is usually first presented as an insurance claim. The first thing that will happen is that we will file an insurance claim both with your own insurance carrier, to cover your medical bills, and with the insurance carrier for the driver responsible for causing the accident.  Also, if the at-fault driver has no insurance or inadequate insurance, we may file a claim with your insurance company for uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance benefits.

Most of the time, your injury claims can be resolved outside the courtroom. After you have treated for your injury and recovered or reached a stable level of new disability, a demand will be sent to the insurance company, and it will have an opportunity to resolve your case for a reasonable and fair amount. Only if the insurance company fails to offer you fair compensation, will we litigate your case in court.

Once we have decided to formally litigate your case, a complaint is filed with the Superior Court in the county where your accident occurred against the person or corporation responsible for causing your accident. Most of the time, in a Tri-City car crash, this suit will be filed in Benton or Franklin County Superior Court, but it can also be filed in Federal District Court for the Eastern District on Washington in certain cases. As your personal injury lawyers, we prepare all the documents required to begin formal litigation and insure they are properly and legally served on the defendants. It's important to note that in the State of Washington a litigant only has three years to file most personal injury claims, or the claim is forever barred by the statute of limitations. Generally, it is during the first couple of years that we are attempting to resolve your case for a fair amount to avoid unnecessary litigation. But sometimes, an insurance carrier is unreasonable, and formal litigation cannot be avoided. When this happens, a personal injury law firm like ours should be prepared to do battle in the courtrooms of Washington State on your behalf.

One point to stress, however, is that no matter how a case is resolved –either by settlement before trial or by going to trial—the best resolutions are achieved by those attorneys who fully prepare. From the moment we take your case, we begin our preparation. Medical records are obtained and reviewed. Witnesses are interviewed. Doctor and experts are consulted. Sometimes depositions are necessary as well. At a deposition, a witness if placed under oath and questioned by attorneys. A court reporter is present to make a record. Once we finish our preparation, we are ready to either settle the case or go to trial.

When choosing a personal injury lawyer, it's important to ask the lawyer questions about their readiness for trial, their experience in front of juries, and how often they have litigated cases in the county where you will be filing suit. Not every personal injury lawyer has trial and courtroom experience. You don't want to wait until your case needs to be formally litigated to realize that your lawyer has no courtroom experience. After all, you want a lawyer who is not just familiar with the insurance claims process but who is familiar with litigating your case all the way through to a verdict and upon appeal if necessary.

Auto accident personal injury cases can be complicated. In the simpler cases, however, it is obvious who is responsible for the accident. This part of the case we call “liability”. For instance, in a rear end collision, the driver you is almost always responsible and “liable” for having caused the accident. In these cases, litigation is hardly ever required to determine who is at fault. But even in these clear liability cases, sometimes, the value of the claim needs to be litigated. What I mean by this is that sometimes the insurance company and the client do not agree as to what the proper dollar amount to be assigned for the injury. This is the reason most personal injury cases go to trial—a dispute over the value of the claim. In those instances, it is the job of the personal injury lawyer to explain to the jury what a fair award is. The jury is asked to award money for such damages as pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, and the loss of enjoyment of life. As an experienced trial personal injury lawyer, I elicit the testimony of witnesses, family members, friends, treating medical providers, vocational experts, and economists to make these damages translate to a monetary award.

Trial is costly. While there is generally a slight increase in the fee of a personal injury lawyer who must try a case in court (generally from 33% to 40%), the highest increase is the litigation expense associated with bringing expert witnesses to testify in a courtroom. Over time, this cost has continued to increase. To help reduce costs, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a new area of alternate dispute resolution developed in the State of Washington and across the nation. The new concept, known typically as the mediation process, was borne of the idea that many cases could be settled out of court with the help of a neutral mediator. Over the course of my 20-year career as a lawyer, it is this alternate dispute resolution process that now resolves the vast majority of auto accident serious injury and death cases. The key to any good alternate dispute resolution process is a quality neutral officer who serves as an intermediary working to bridge the gap or resolve disputes. Without a quality neutral, alternate dispute resolution cannot be effective.

While the simple answer to the question: “Do I have to go to court?” is: “No,” you must be prepared to do so in case your case does not settle. This is the answer that I often give my clients. If your personal injury lawyer and you are unwilling or unprepared to go to trial in your case, you will not obtain full value for your serious injury claim. While it is reasonable to avoid going to trial, you must hire an attorney with the experience and confidence to do so.