The victim of a car accident in Los Angeles, California, may experience any number of fears while preparing for their injury claim. Perhaps they fear for their health and financial stability. Maybe they fear the future. More than likely, they fear that the car accident claim process will take forever and their case will end up in court.
Fortunately for accident victims, most car accident cases never reach trial. Instead, the insurer and the accident victim reach a settlement. The injured claimant receives a check and releases the claim against the at-fault driver.
If you’ve just been involved in a car accident in Los Angeles, contact our experienced attorneys from M&Y Personal Injury Lawyers at (877) 300-4535.
How M&Y Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After an Automobile Accident in LA
The team at M&Y Personal Injury Lawyers has been fighting for Los Angeles accident victims for nearly ten years. During that time, our LA car accident attorneys have recovered over $400 million for injured clients.
If you hire our legal team to assist you after a car accident in Los Angeles, CA, we’ll be able to:
- Investigate your accident to establish liability
- Hire and work with experts to strengthen your claim
- Negotiate for a settlement agreement on your behalf
- File a lawsuit if it’s in your best interest
Car accident victims have options for pursuing injury compensation under California’s fault-based insurance system. Contact M&Y Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss how you can seek compensation for your car accident injuries.
How Common Are Car Accidents in LA?
Crash numbers from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) show that in 2019, the most recent year from which data are available as of this writing, Los Angeles County had 88,814 traffic accidents that caused injury or death.
But not all these cases produced accident claims. Some accident victims chose to bear the burden of their injuries themselves, while others with minor injuries might not have felt the need to seek injury compensation.
Additionally, some accidents were not caused by negligence. In these cases, none of the injured parties had a basis to file an injury claim. For example, if another car collided with you when a flood pushed it into your path, your injuries might have happened despite everyone driving carefully.
Even if only half of the crashes produced an injury claim, that would still equate to more than 40,000 annual accident claims.
Overview of Whether You Have To Go To Court After a Los Angeles Car Accident
California has a fault-based insurance system. Under this system (used by California and 37 other states), every driver must buy bodily injury liability (BIL) insurance. California’s minimum coverage limits are $15,000 for accidents that injure a single victim and $30,000 for accidents that injure multiple victims.
To get injury compensation, each accident victim must pursue a claim against the at-fault driver. Usually, this process starts with an insurance claim. If the insurance company that issued the BIL coverage refuses to settle the claim, the accident victim might need to file a lawsuit.
During the lawsuit, you and your car accident attorney will continue to try to settle your case. If all settlement efforts fail, your case will reach trial, and you will need to go to court.
How Many Claims Reach Trial?
The odds that you will have to go to court after a car accident are fairly low. According to the U.S. Justice Department, only 3% of personal injury lawsuits reach trial. And this does not include the number of cases that never reach the lawsuit stage.
To understand how many claims reach trial, you first need to understand the opportunities you will have to settle your claim with the insurance company.
After you file your insurance claim, a claims adjuster will investigate the accident. The claim file will include the accident report, your medical records, and documentation of your injury-related expenses.
The claims adjuster protects the insurer from paying any claims it does not legally need to pay. This means the adjuster will work hard to deny or reduce your claim. At the same time, the insurer must make a good-faith effort to settle any claims where you establish liability. If it does not, you might have a claim for bad faith against the insurer.
If you build a solid claim with good documentation, you have a decent chance of settling the claim without filing a lawsuit. But disputes can arise over liability and damages. You may need to file a lawsuit if you cannot get a fair settlement offer from the insurance company.
Even if you need to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver and their insurer, you still have good odds that your case will settle. Parties can still negotiate a settlement even after a lawsuit has been filed.
Insurers do not like paying for lawyers to litigate cases they will lose or settle. As long as you have a reasonable understanding of the value of your case and you show a willingness to compromise, you will reach a settlement and avoid going to court.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our LA Car Crash Lawyers
One of the key factors in resolving your case without going to court is the strength of your case. To discuss how an experienced Los Angeles car accident attorney can help you build a solid injury claim, contact M&Y Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation.
