The truth is that 95% of personal injury lawsuits are settled before they go to court, but 5% of them do proceed to trial. Continue reading to learn how a judge and/or jury will determine how much money you should be compensated for your losses. For a free legal consultation, call Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 if you have any additional questions or need the assistance of a personal injury attorney.
The evidence will be examined
The first step will be for the judge or jury to assess the evidence produced during the trial. Medical records, expenses, time away from work, lost income, and other considerations will be examined. They will go over everything and total everything up. This only applies to monetary damages that can be measured, not nonmonetary damages like pain and suffering.
The attorneys’ suggestions will be considered
According to studies, a jury’s decision may be impacted by the amount sought by the plaintiff, with the bigger the reward, the higher the award. This is significant because jurors use the amount of compensation sought by the plaintiff as a beginning point for their deliberations. Rather than asking, “How much does this person deserve?” they will question, “Do they deserve more or less than the $1.4 million sought?”
They may take precedent into account
The court may allow your personal injury attorney to bring up the results of previous similar instances in certain sorts of personal injury cases so that the jury can get a sense of how much the case is worth. Always keep in mind that the jury does not have a legal background, therefore this information can come in handy.
Fault rate as a percentage
Personal injury cases in California are subject to comparative negligence. It states that in an accident, each party is responsible for damages proportionate to their percentage of fault. As a result, you could be 95 percent to blame for your own injury, but if someone else is 5 percent to blame, they could be ordered to pay 5 percent of your injury costs.
The jury must decide what percentage of fault each side bears. They will examine the facts, weigh all of the attorneys’ arguments, and assign percentages of fault. They will then divide the total damages by the amount of the at-fault party’s fault and award the plaintiff damages according to that percentage.
For example, if the jury awards $100,00 in economic and noneconomic damages and the at-fault party is found to be 59 percent at fault, the plaintiff will receive $59,000. When you deal with a personal injury lawyer, they may go through the details with you and help you understand how your case might be affected.
