If you’ve been injured in a trucking accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Injury lawsuits are often filed in civil court to seek a legal judgment of damages. However, at any time before or during litigation the parties can seek to resolve their dispute through an informal settlement. Settlements often help the parties to a lawsuit save time and money. Below, you’ll find information on how trucking accident settlements work and the potential advantages and disadvantages of settling a claim.
A legal settlement is reached when the parties to litigation have reached an agreement outside of court. Settlements are often reached by using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods such as arbitration, mediation, or negotiation. Negotiation and mediation are non-binding methods of reaching an agreement, while arbitration is a binding process that replaces a civil trial. In most cases, a claim for damages that resulted from a trucking accident can be resolved through ADR methods. Parties can undertake ADR even if their disagreement is simultaneously being litigated in court.
Reaching a settlement through ADR is very attractive because it’s typically much cheaper and quicker than seeking resolution in court. ADR is also less adversarial than litigation because the parties are able to present their positions confidentially and there’s no admission of fault by either party. When parties are less defensive, they’re better able to calmly and rationally discuss contentious issues and are then more likely to reach an amicable settlement agreement.
In a trucking accident case, parties using ADR are able to speak with each other frankly about the facts of the accident, their position on damages, who they believe is liable, etc, and receive the objective opinion of a neutral third party. In some instances, parties can regulate how much of their legal position is revealed to the other parties, yet still receive the invaluable insights of a trained, neutral third party with experience in trucking accident matters.
While in most cases reaching a settlement is preferred over the need to undergo protracted litigation, there are some disadvantages to settling a claim:
There are two major types of settlements - lump-sum and structured. A lump-sum settlement is paid all at once, while a structured settlement is paid in regular payments over a pre-determined period of time. Settlements are taxed according to their classification, so your choice of settlement can significantly affect the total amount of money you’ll receive after taxes.
While reaching a settlement over a trucking accident dispute is often preferred over long, expensive litigation, the process can be complicated. That's why it's a good idea to speak with a local car accident attorney before getting invovled in settlement talks. Your lawyer can explain the different types of alternative dispute resolution methods and provide the pros and cons of each method in connection to the unique facts of your case.
