What You Need to Know About Out of Court Settlements
Something which a lot of people aren’t aware of is the volume personal injury cases which are settled out of court. A lot of people who have been injured in this kind of incident believe that they will be heard in the courtroom, but this is something which very rarely happens. Whilst the best in the business like injury lawyers Judd Shaw will still always prepare for a potential courtroom hearing, they are also well aware that most will be settled before it gets that far.
If you are looking to file this kind of case, here is what you should know about out of court settlements.
Number of Settlements
When web say that most cases are settled in this way, we really mean it. In fact some 85% of all personal injury cases are concluded with a negotiated fee between the legal teams which the client then accepts. Only the very large claims actually make it to the courtroom, and that is because they can be contentious or highly complex.
Less Compensation
Something which you may have heard is that you will get less compensation if you take an out of court settlement. This is true and if you take the same case to the courtroom and win, you will get a bigger payout. This however is if you do win the case, taking it to court always carries the risk that you won’t. There are also higher costs which you will have to pay the legal team if your case goes to court, not to mention the lengthy process. This is exactly why many like to settle.
Benefits For Legal Teams
There are more benefits for this kind of settlement, and there is no doubt that this is a deal which can greatly help the legal teams. Ultimately the quicker that they are able to finish a case, the faster that they can move onto the next one and the more money that they can make. Additionally, and just as importantly, they can deliver the best result for their clients in no time at all. This helps the client and both legal teams.
Will You Be Taxed?
Many of you have asked us in the past about compensation and whether or not it is taxable. The reality is that is the large majority of cases the money that is paid to you in an out of court settlement will not be taxable. The reason for this is that the federal government consider the money to have been awarded to you in order to cover costs which you have already spent. Those costs will have included the payment of tax, and so the government sees no reason to then charge you tax on the money that is being recompensed.
If there are any other questions which you have about out of court settlements then please don’t hesitate to ask us in the comments section below this post.
