First, they are expensive. Even if you are the injured person, and your lawyer is being paid on a percentage basis.
You have to get certified copies of all the medical records, provide them to the other side, pay court reporters to type out the sworn statements from the important witnesses, pay your own doctors to write opinion letters, pay your doctors for getting ready to give testimony, and pay your doctors to meet with you so you will know what they are going to say.
If you have a special expert, like an accident reconstructionist, or an economist to testify about your lost income (in a big case such a witness is helpful) you have to pay the expert for the time they spend preparing a report, preparing to testify, and actually testifying.
All this requires money. Before you have any idea how much money a jury will award at trial – if you are awarded anything.
Second, trials are a slow way to get the other side to pay. You usually don’t get a trial until at least a year after you file lawsuit with the court.
Third, trials take a lot of your time. You have to sit in the court for the length of the trial – usually at least two days – so the jury won’t think you don’t care about your case. But you also have to spend a lot of time reading the record of sworn testimony you have already given, and reviewing your testimony with your lawyer so you don’t get “trapped” when you testify.
Fourth, if your lawsuit is set for trial, you know you are going to testify and you know that you are going to be judged. You are aware of this every time you think about your lawsuit. Most people don’t like thinking about this.
Fifth, you can lose. If you lose, you probably don’t get any money from the insurance company.
I am a trial lawyer. There is nothing that feels better than winning a trial.
But there are few things that are worse than losing one.
Trials are expensive, take a long time, and cause a lot of worry. Most of my clients prefer a good settlement.
I have been a lawyer over 30 years. If you have a personal injury case in Cincinnati, Ohio or if you want to know more about how trials work, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Personal Injury Attorney about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.
Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.
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