When a personal injury attorney handles your car accident claim, they seek the settlement option that’s most beneficial to you. If the responsible parties and insurers respond fairly, this usually means presenting your evidence and negotiating your claim. Regardless of ongoing insurance company interactions, attorneys prepare your case early, so they're ready if circumstances call for a lawsuit. The negligent party’s insurer won’t negotiate fairly. Your deadline for settlement (statute of limitations) is close. The insurer or negligent parties refuse to make an offer. Once your attorney files a lawsuit, they must prepare as though they will be in court someday. They begin a discovery process that involves formal depositions, document requests, medical records production, and court-ordered hearings. After taking these preparatory steps, many cases never see the inside of a courtroom for several reasons. Too Many Lawsuits Attorneys file lawsuits, but judges must manage them. Statistics consistently confirm that courts have far too many cases to handle. The most recent annual data sampling from the Court Statistics Project shows 418,508 incoming tort lawsuits pending in the 35 states that reported their cases. Attorneys file civil tort lawsuits to recover damages from a responsible party. CSP lumps car accident lawsuits in with the overall civil suit data. This sampling of five states’ annual incoming tort lawsuits demonstrates how courts manage their high caseloads. Annual Incoming Tort Lawsuits Texas: 73,333 Georgia: 26,398 Missouri: 15,127 Nevada: 11,233 Ohio: 20,884 These statistics reflect a recent trend toward slightly lower case numbers due to COVID-related issues. Statistics for pre-COVID cases trended slightly higher. Non-Trial Dispositions Twenty states reported a combined total of 227,015 tort case dispositions. This category includes filed cases that left the docket due to trials and non-trial events. The statistics below show disposition results from the same states listed above. Texas: 53,482 dispositions Georgia: 9,736 dispositions Missouri: 11,002 dispositions Nevada: 9,568 dispositions Ohio: 18,492 dispositions Non-trial dispositions occur due to actions such as change of venue, dismissal, uncontested (the defendant doesn’t respond), and others. Courts also encourage Alternative Dispute Resolution processes that encourage case resolution without a trial. Alternative Dispute Resolution Helps Keep Cases Out of Court Mediation is a popular ADR. In this facilitated negotiation, a neutral party coaches adversaries toward a settlement. The process requires participation from plaintiffs, defendants, legal representatives, and insurers. Some jurisdictions require mediation. Effective mediation requires that someone on each side has the authority to negotiate. A neutral mediator moves between group interactions and private conversations held in a neutral location. Mediators encourage evidence sharing and negotiation. The process doesn't always lead to a settlement but often inspires better communication among adverse parties. Arbitration operates similarly to a jury trial. The defendant and plaintiff attorneys present evidence and liability theories to a panel of arbitrators. The arbitrators decide the cases. Parties usually participate in two types of arbitration. Binding Arbitration: The disputing parties agree to accept the decision. Non-Binding Arbitration: The disputing parties may either agree or reject the decision. Most courts have mandatory settlement conferences, and attorneys must prove they made settlement attempts. Other courts establish mini-trials, settlement weeks, and other case settlement programs. Some Cases Do Go to Court Based on these recently documented tort case dispositions, some plaintiffs get their day in court. Courts try their cases either by bench trial or jury trial. The judge hears the evidence during a bench trial and decides the case. In a jury trial, a judge presides over the court, and a jury hears the evidence and decides the outcome. Texas, 2,208 Trials: 1,872 bench trials, 336 jury trials Georgia, 628 Trials: 541 bench trials, 87 jury trials Missouri, 1,008 Trials: 964 bench trials, 44 jury trials Nevada: 95 Trials: 31 bench trials; 64 jury trials Ohio, 675 Trials: 623 bench trials; 52 jury trials