What are my chances of resolving my case by settlement as opposed to going to trial?

Studies show that settlements account for more than 99% of all cases. If your case is properly prepared by a good lawyer it is extremely likely that it will be resolved by settlement.

As a Tyler injury attorney I am frequently asked by my clients if I think they are going to have to go to trial. One statewide study indicated that out of all personal injury claims only two–tenths of 1% of those cases actually went to jury trial. Two tenths of 1% is two out of a thousand. Thus if you have an injury case in Texas it is extremely unlikely that you will have to go through a jury trial. However, I caution my clients that someone has to be the two out of a thousand and they just may be one of those two.

There are also some other considerations which should be taken into consideration when evaluating these statistics. There are a number of high volume law firms, particularly in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, which handle a large number of accident claims and never file a lawsuit or go to trial. The sheer volume of claims handled in this manner tends to skew the statistics. The good news is that these law firms are more likely to get your case settled without filing a lawsuit or going to trial. The bad news is that these law firms typically accomplish this by settling for lesser amounts.

As a Tyler injury attorney it has been my experience that about one out of 50 or about 2% of the cases need to be tried to a jury. The paradox is that if an injury attorney is willing to go to trial and prepares his cases with the anticipation that he may go to trial the insurance companies will evaluate this fact and are more likely to offer a reasonable settlement. Clients who are considering hiring a Tyler injury attorney would be well advised to ask that attorney when the last time was that he tried a personal injury case to verdict, how often he tries personal injury cases to verdict, and how many times he has tried personal injury cases to verdict. Personal injury attorneys that go to trial get better settlements.