Settlement or Trial
Many clients misunderstand what is meant by "settlement".
A settlement is what happens when both parties reach an agreement as to how much an accident victim should be paid for his or her injury claims.
If there is no settlement, the claims go to trial and are heard by a judge (and sometimes by a jury). The amount awarded to the accident victim by a judge or a jury is not a "settlement", it is described as a judgment, an award or a verdict.
It is quite common for acccident victims to tell us that they would like to settle their claims, that they do not want to "go to court".
We understand the desire to settle and avoid trial and we agree that trial should be avoided where possible, if only to avoid the risks involved in the trial process.
Our clients need to be aware, however, that if the other side (usually an insurance company) does not believe that you are willing and able to go to trial, they will not offer top dollar to settle your claims.
For these reasons, we usually commence a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on behalf of our clients. We advance that lawsuit through the many pre-trial stages while, at the same time, negotiating with the other side. If the negotiations with the other side do not result in an offer which is acceptable to our clients, we are then ready to proceed to trial without any additional delay.
