You may have heard that car accident injury claims rarely go to trial. This is true, but the specific statistics can be inaccurate or misleading. For example, we have heard attorneys say that upwards of 90% of car accident claims are handled outside of a courtroom. The fact is that the actual, true statistics vary based on a huge number of factors, including the specifics of the claim. As a result, it is impossible to offer a specific percentage of how many cases to court.
To learn more about car accident claims and how they may be best handled, keep reading. If you have grounds for an accident claim then we encourage you to contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker at 800-333-0000 for your free legal consultation.
The Statistics on Major Car Accident Cases
We can look at the most recent data collected on car accidents in which there were more than $25,000 of damages. California has about 30,000 of these cases each year, yet over the last few years only about 700 ended up in court. The resulting stats show that in major car accident cases, such as those involving wrongful death, only about 2% go to trial. While certain counties have much higher rates of car accident claims making it to court (some as high as 6%), most counties are between 1-2%.
Small Claims Cases
A car accident claim in California that is worth less than $25,000 is known as a “limited civil” case and is not tracked in the same way major car accidents. It is also true that cases in small claims court, which involve damages of less than $10,000, are not tracked. However, the data is combined and offered so while we cannot get the specifics, we do know that about 8% of limited civil cases when to trial and of those, only 2% were in front of a jury – the other 98% were decided by a judge. Small claims is much different with more than 55% ending up being decided by the court.
Cases Not Decided by the Court
As you can see from the statistics above, if you do have reason to file a personal injury suit, there is a very good chance that it will not go to court. It could be that it gets dismissed for any number of reasons, such as being filed after the statute of limitations has expired. More often, the case will not go to court because the parties involved will agree to an out-of-court settlement.
Your Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You Decide How Best to Proceed
When you work with a personal injury attorney, you will get the facts on what your options are. All you have to do is contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker at 800-333-0000 for a free legal consultation. We will consider all the factors affecting your case and let you know what your best legal path is.