Home · After a crash · Guide
09 — Resolution
What is the difference between settling and going to trial?
A settlement is a contract. You give up the claim. They pay a number. It is final if the release is written that way, including unknown injuries, which California releases often cover.
A trial is a decision by a judge or a jury, after evidence. It costs time and money. It also prices the case when the carrier will not. The right choice is the one the developed file supports, not the one a billboard prefers.
Ask whoever represents you whether they try cases, or refer them out the month before jury selection. The answer belongs in the first meeting.
Written for riders in California as general information from the Bike911 practice of A.G. Assanti & Associates, P.C. It is not advice about your facts, and it is not a substitute for counsel. Deadlines can be shorter than you think.
Related
- After a motorcycle accident, what should I do first?
- Should I talk to the insurance company before a lawyer?
- What happens if I was partially at fault?
- How does a lawyer decide what a case is worth?
- What evidence disappears quickly after an accident?
- What should I photograph after a crash?
- Can I still claim if I did not go to the hospital?
- When does an insurance company become unreasonable?
- What actually happens after a case goes to trial?
- Is lane splitting legal, and does it sink a claim?
- Does California helmet law affect a claim?