Ask a Car Accident Attorney: When Does a Case Typically Go to Trial?

If you’ve been in a car accident and you’ve had trouble receiving a fair settlement for your damages and injuries, then it’s wise to seek the counsel of seasoned auto accident lawyers. An experienced attorney in San Antonio, TX will be able to answer all your questions about your case and may even be able to help you secure fair compensation for your claims.

Ask a Car Accident Attorney: When Does a Case Typically Go to Trial?

In general, most car accident cases won’t automatically go to trial. Instead, the first phase of a car accident case will be filing a claim with your insurance company and the insurance company of the other driver. In an ideal world, the insurance companies will process your claim and churn out a settlement offer that will cover the costs of your damages, injuries, medical bills, and other economic impacts.

However, all too often insurance companies give low-ball offers to people who have been injured in car accidents. Or it’s sometimes the case that the other driver refuses to claim responsibility for the accident or tries to blame you, which also stalls negotiations. Your car accident case will usually only progress to the trial stage when the claim can’t be settled outside of court through normal negotiations, and you need a car accident attorney in San Antonio to represent you at each step.

Reasons Why Your Case May Go To Trial

The most common reason why a car accident case may go to trial is contention in the liability of the case. In other words, either driver may claim they are not liable or blame the other driver, which prevents insurance companies from settling on compensation. In Texas, because of comparative negligence, this causes your case to progress to a trial stage, where evidence will be used to determine which driver is most at-fault, as well as the amount of compensation each driver deserves.

Another reason your case may go to trial is that the insurance company for the liable driver may decide that the compensation is too high and refuses to pay. If the liable driver’s insurance company refuses to play ball in negotiations and offer you a fair settlement, then you are entitled to take your case to court.

How Long Do Cases Last?

There’s no set timeline for how long a car accident case will last. Most cases will have several weeks or months to gather evidence for the case, but the trial itself may only last a few days. Whether or not your case is heard in front of a judge or requires jury input is also a factor in determining how long your court case will take to reach a verdict.

Claiming compensation for a car accident isn’t always as simple as it appears. Various factors may make it more difficult for your case to reach a settlement. If you’re unsure of how to proceed with your claim, it’s a wise idea to contact experienced lawyers for legal advice on your case. A lawyer will be able to help you manage your case, especially if your claim proceeds to trial.

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