There are many reasons why most personal injury cases never make it to court. For one, insurance companies would rather avoid the added expense of a courtroom and jury trial. If a case gets decided in the victim’s favor, the insurance company will have to pay court costs in addition to any compensation awarded.
Another factor to consider is the jury may award much more compensation than the insurance company wants to pay out. The insurance company may realize it can settle the claim for far less than what a jury might award.
However, settling out of court is also beneficial for the victims. You can recover compensation much more quickly through a settlement than a lawsuit. Another factor to consider is that you know you will be getting compensation if you settle. However, you do not know how a jury might rule in a court case – you might not receive any compensation at all.
Court costs and other legal fees, including costly fees for experts’ testimony, are taken out of your compensation award, so it is beneficial to victims to settle.