A claimant that has agreed to a settlement must await the arrival of promised compensation. A plaintiff that has won at a personal injury trial expects to receive court-ordered funds.
Procedure used to deliver compensation, following settlement
Both lawyers tell the appropriate court that the case has been settled. The same court issues an order of settlement. At that point, the injury lawyers in Windsor for both parties have between 30 and 60 days to complete all of the necessary paperwork.
The release form is one of the most important documents in that collection of paperwork. It is prepared by the defense attorney, and is sent to the claimant’s attorney. The claimant’s attorney reviews the release form, before the claimant/client signs it. The signed form gets sent back to the office that created it.
Once the insurance company has received the signed release, it sends a check to the claimant’s lawyer. It then becomes the lawyer’s job to pay any lien holders, before taking the agreed-upon percent, and sending the rest of the money to the waiting client.
Procedure used for delivery of court-ordered award
The defendant has the right to appeal the decision made at the personal-injury trial. The plaintiff must await the ruling from the appeals court. That court could issue one of 3 possible rulings. It could uphold the verdict from the initial trial. It could reverse that same verdict. Or, it could call for the scheduling of a new trial.
If the verdict were to be upheld, then the court would tell the insurance company to come forward with the money for the judgment. If the court were reversed, then the plaintiff would not receive any money. If a new trial were scheduled, then the plaintiff would need to await the decision from that second trial.
Understand, though, that there would be no guarantee that the verdict from the second trial would be one in favor of the plaintiff. Moreover, even if it did represent a win for that same plaintiff, the defendant would have the right to appeal that second verdict.
In other words, many months could pass before the defendant would reach the point where he or she could no longer appeal a court’s ruling. Only then would the court tell the insurance company that it had to come forward with the court-ordered funds for the party that had been the victim of the defendant’s negligence.
Those that learn about the procedure described above soon realize why most personal injury cases end with a negotiated settlement. That method is easier and less stressful. It also removes the victim from the need to take on another financial burden, namely the added expenses created by a trial.