Secrets Kept From Juries In Personal Injury Cases (Civil Cases)gqukm

Many are more than a little surprised to learn about
certain facts and procedures that occur in our legal system
which are very common in personal injury claims. One
surprising fact is how much information is hidden from the
jury. Specifically information that is kept from juries in
personal injury cases which include car accident cases,
wrongful death, medical malpractice, etc.

For example, the attorneys and judge are prohibited from
even mentioning whether a party has insurance, and if they
do, a mistrial will typically occur. The jury will never
be told if the defendant has INSURANCE and if so, how much.

It is important to note that if a case is filed in court,
or if it goes to trial, the defendant will almost always
have INSURANCE. The plaintiff and their lawyer will not
devote hundreds of hours to work up and pursue a claim
unless there is a guaranteed source of recovery (i.e., an
insurance policy to pay a verdict). Jurors hearing a civil
case can rest assured the defendant will have the means to
pay any verdict that is handed down.

The defendant's insurance company hires the lawyer, decides
when to settle, basically makes all of the decisions when a
case is in litigation. Most of the time the defendant has
very little say about how the case is defended or if a
settlement should occur. The decision about whether to
settle, by how much, etc. are always made by the INSURANCE
CARRIER.

Filing a lawsuit does not mean your case will be heard by a
jury. Most personal injury attorneys would rather have a
JUDGE decide the case instead of a jury. This is because
too many jurors are highly SUSPICIOUS and SKEPTICAL of
injured plaintiffs, and often refuse to give money for
legitimate injuries based on a variety of reasons. To have
a case resolved by a jury, one must file a specific
document with the court and pay a $250 JURY FEE. If the
plaintiff or defendant fails to file a JURY DEMAND, then
the judge will hear and decide the case (unless the case
settles before the trial date).

In more than 90-95% of personal injury lawsuits, it is the
defendant's INSURANCE COMPANY that has requested a jury!
Why is this true? Because juries will typically award less
money (and sometimes no money) in personal injury cases
than the judge will award.

Insurance companies are fully aware of the statistics that
show a jury will typically award much LESS MONEY to an
injured plaintiff than an experienced judge, especially in
certain types of claims, like medical malpractice, soft
tissue injuries, and other cases which may be difficult to
prove.

**In most MEDICAL MALPRACTICE lawsuits (at least 90-95% of
cases), it is the doctor's defense attorney that files the
Jury Demand and pays the required jury fee of $250! Yep,
doctors complain of "runaway jury awards," yet the DOCTORS'
ATTORNEYS routinely ask that the cases against them be
heard by a jury!

**Most plaintiff's attorneys will try to resolve smaller
injury claims (less than $50,000) through settlement
negotiations or by court-ordered arbitration. A program
known as MANDATORY ARBITRATION allows the court to appoint
a retired judge or experienced attorney (someone who is
approved by the court) to decide the case in an expedient
and cost effective manner, as an alternative to going to
trial in court.

**You can APPEAL an ARBITRATION AWARD by requesting that
the case be tried in court. However, if the party who
appeals the award fails to do better at trial, that party
will have to pay the non-appealing party's attorney fees
and costs.

**In more than 90-95% of personal injury claims that go to
arbitration and are appealed, it is the DEFENDANT or the
defendant's INSURANCE COMPANY who appeal the award! Most
plaintiff attorneys will rarely appeal an arbitration award
because it creates a significant risk that the individual
client may have to pay for the defendant's insurance
defense costs.

If an arbitration award is appealed and goes to trial, the
jury will never be told that the case was first resolved by
arbitration. And the jury will never be told the amount of
the arbitrator's award.

The jury will be left with the impression that the
plaintiff and his/her attorney has forced them to come to
court to decide a small case that should have been SETTLED
. Often times the jury will resent a plaintiff in a small
case, believing that the plaintiff is "litigious" or trying
to "hit the jackpot" and then award the plaintiff a very
small percentage of what would be considered a fair verdict
(or sometimes nothing at all as payback for filing a
lawsuit in such a small case).

----------------------------------------------------
Christopher M. Davis is the managing partner of Davis Law
Group. He brings over 15 years of practical yet innovative
experience to personal injury cases. He practices law in
Seattle, WA. You can learn more about Mr. Davis at
http://www.InjuryTrialLawyer.com or
http://www.seattleaccidentnews.com .