After an accident, the insurance coverage gets determined by the situation. The situation at the time of the accident plays a part in determining the amount of money awarded to the claimant. The setting in which a settlement got sought also plays a role in determining the size of that award.
A settlement might arise from an injury-related claim.
In that situation, a claimant agrees to accept money that covers the cost of medical bills plus the time spent recovering from the injury. During that time, the claimant was unable to earn his or her expected salary. Such an agreement gets reached through negotiations.
What happens when negotiations fail to lead to an agreement?
The opposing parties might decide to take part in a mediation session. That would lead to introduction of a mediator. The mediator would encourage each of the 2 parties to consider the arguments made by the other side. Frequently, an effective mediator guides the disputing parties towards an agreement.
Sometimes a mediator does not succeed in channeling the thinking of those that are on opposing sides. If that is the case, then the plaintiff files a lawsuit. The filing of a lawsuit leads to the scheduling of a trial. During a trial, a jury decides whether or not to grant an award to the plaintiff.
Factors considered by the plaintiff’s lawyer, before agreeing to the scheduling of a trial:
Does it look like the plaintiff/client might be held partially responsible for the accident that created the claimed damages? In a trial, the defendant’s lawyer would be sure to call-attention to the extent that the plaintiff/client had aided occurrence of the damaging accident.
Does the defendant have the assets that could be used, in order to pay any requested compensation? An attorney would not encourage a client to seek an award, if the defendant lacked the resources for providing that award.
One element of an insurance claim that does not vanish at the time of a lawsuit.
Whenever the disputing parties deal with each other, both of them have the chance to reach some sort of agreement. The dispute can be settled at any time. The setting does not alter the nature of the events that triggered the dispute. The legal system seeks to encourage the resolution of that disagreement.
The legal system has been structured to permit the settling of a personal injury claim at any point along the path that leads from the insurance claim to a courtroom scene. Even when the Personal Injury Lawyer in Ottawa argue the case in a courtroom, that does not eliminate the chance to settle. The lawyers could ask to meet in the judge’s chambers. Terms of a settlement could be reached there.
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