Do you have to go to court for a personal injury claim?

Some people can be quite reluctant to make a personal injury claim because they are worried about potentially having to go to court. However, there are certain misconceptions about personal injury claims and the likelihood of you having to go to court.

Call our specialists on 0333 358 3034 or fill out our online form to arrange a no-obligation confidential conversation about your accident.

The Likelihood Of A Claim Going To Court

While you might think that every personal injury claim goes to court, the amount of personal injury claims cases that go to court is actually very small. Only roughly 5% of personal injury claims actually go to court. Furthermore, they will only go to court to be heard in front of a judge but not a jury.

 Unfortunately, not all claims are capable of settlement and court proceedings may be needed.  However, before court proceedings are issued we will seek your instructions before issuing these. This does not mean that your claim will go to a trial, the litigation process can be lengthy and we will attempt to secure a settlement at every possibility in order to remove the need to go to trial.  You will be kept fully informed throughout your claim and will receive updates throughout the litigation process so that you will have plenty of notice if it appears that your case may go to trial.  

Lots of personal injury claims are settled outside of the courtroom and so a fear of going to court shouldn’t stop you from making a claim. The reasons why most personal injury claims do not go to trial include:  

• Solicitor vetting – the solicitor will assess the case prior to taking it on to ensure that the blame for the accident is completely with the other party, that the accident occurred in the last three years and that the defendant owed the victim a duty of care. A scenario in which the defendant would owe the victim a duty of care would be if the defendant was the victim’s employer.   

• The solicitors on both sides of the case will want to keep the case out of court because going to Court attracts a level of uncertainty and having to go to court would increase the general costs of the case, meaning that money has to be taken away from the eventual settlement.   
• Preparation – Before any trial a large amount of preparation goes into a claim such as conference with a Barrister and /or an expert which you may or may not be required.  At these conferences and before trial your case and any evidence will be reviewed and scrutinised to make sure that we present your claim in the  best possible way to the Judge  
• Solicitors will sometimes speak to the judge alone, perhaps through a video call rather than having to actually appear in court. In this scenario, the victim or the defendant would not need to be on the call.  

Therefore, you shouldn’t worry about having to go to court if you want to make a personal injury claim. The likelihood is that you won’t have to go to court to settle your claim as it will probably be settled outside of court.   

Normally, the only cases that will go to court are very complex personal injury cases. These sorts of complex cases occur when liability cannot be resolved and determined in the case. In a legal case, liability refers to determining which side is accountable for the accident.

Contact Jefferies Today

At first, we will need some initial details about the specifics of your injuries and how this has impacted upon your life. Please contact us today on 0333 358 3034 or through our online form to get started. A member of our team will quickly be in touch to discuss your case, confidentiality is ensured with all our clients.