Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog
So, you’ve been hurt or injured in an accident.
You retain a personal injury lawyer (hopefully Brian Goldfinger or one of our team members at Goldfinger Injury Lawyers).
The case is running smoothly.
How and when will my personal injury case settle?
These are great questions! Let’s start by answering the easier question first.
When will my personal injury case settle?
The straight forward answer is that personal injury cases take time. There is little rhyme or reason as to when a case will settle. We tell all of our clients that the time which a case will settle varies, and is unpredictable. A personal injury lawyer cannot snap his/her fingers and command that a case settle for a certain amount of dollars. That’s just now how personal injury cases work. The only thing we know for sure is that cases take time to settle, so don’t expect anything to happen quickly; although sometimes things do happen quickly! You never know. And that’s the scary thing, but that’s also the exciting thing. You never know when you get a pleasant call from your personal injury lawyer presenting you with an offer. The next thing you know, you’re deep into negotiations and a deal gets done. Case closed.
How do Personal Injury Cases Settle?
There is no hard and fast answer to this question, because cases settle in many different ways, through many different methods.
But, one thing is common. When a case settles outside of Court, the insurer (or Defendant), will want the Plaintiff to sign some settlement documents. This can be in the form of Minutes of Settlement, a Release, or both!
Minutes of Settlement is a legal document which sets out the terms of the settlement. It puts the deal which has been agreed to in writing, so that there is no misunderstanding as to the terms of the settlement. Minutes of Settlement are great. They are meant to be clear, concise, and easy to understand such that anyone who was not privy to the deal, or who knows nothing about the case can understand the terms of the settlement, and how the settlement will play out. Items which might be detailed in the Minutes of Settlement are:
- The specific details of the settlement itself including which party will take what action
- Who pays what amount, to whom
- How long it will take to get the settlement funds issued, and where the settlement funds will be sent
- Detailing additional settlement documents which need to be executed or prepared such as a Release, Confidentiality Agreement, Tax Documents, Legal Letters etc.
- Whether or not any additional funds beyond the settlement funds need to be paid out and by whom
- How the legal action will be disposed of and by which party and at who’s expense
- Anything else relating to the settlement which has been negotiated between the parties
A Release is a legal document which the Plaintiff is generally required to sign at the conclusion of the case when the parties have agreed to a settlement. The Release will “release” the Defendant from the claim itself along with past and future claims which relate to the case itself to avoid a copy cat action from the same Plaintiff or group of Plaintiffs. Basically, in exchange for compensation, the Defendant does not want to get sued again for the same (or a similar) cause of action. In the Release, the Defendant generally will also seek wording whereby the compensation being offered is not an admission of guilt, and may also seek some form of confidentiality agreement. For many Plaintiffs, that clause is difficult to swallow because they view it as not getting justice. The justice is the compensation. There is no ticker tape parade, or trophy, or gold medal for winning a personal injury case. In a personal injury case, the “winner” gets compensation (money) for his/her injuries/damages/losses. That’s it.
This leads us to the final topic: how do personal injury cases settle? Personal injury cases settle in many ways. They can settle by way of negotiation through lawyers (face to face settlement meeting; a series of phone calls; emails; faxes; letters by regular mail). They can settle by way of mediation, or over a cup of coffee. Personal Injury cases can settle at settlement blitz conferences held by insurers from time to time. Personal Injury Cases can settle at mediation through the assistance of a skilled mediator. They can settle at Pre-Trial with the assistance of a Judge. This would not be the same Judge as the Judge hearing the actual trial. The Pre-Trial Judge is different. Their role is to sort out procedural issues before trial, make sure that the case is actually ready for trial so that valuable Court time is not wasted, narrow the issues before the trial to make sure that the trial runs smoothly, and to explore the possibility of settlement. The Pre-Trial Judge will also give his/her views on the merits of the case which may influence the parties in one way, shape or form.
Personal Injury cases can settle at any time. They can settle before trial, on the doorsteps of the Courthouse before the trial starts, or during a trial itself! There are no hard and fast rules in terms of when a case can settle, or how it should settle.
If every personal injury lawyer could have a superpower, it would be to settle a case on demand. That way, their clients get paid quickly, and efficiently when they expect it to happen. Unfortunately, this is not reality. That is not to say that cases don’t settle. It’s only to suggest that it’s hard to predict when a personal injury case will settle, and for what amount. A settlement cannot be forced because one party desperately wants the case over with. It takes two to tango! Both parties will need to agree on the terms of the settlement. Getting both parties on the same page can prove to be difficult. But, if a Plaintiff is patient, and has a better understanding of how personal injury cases work; that settlement time will come sooner than expected.
