My personal injury case is on for trial... What should I expect?

What should you expect when your case is tried?

I get asked this question all of the time. My clients have been injured due to the negligence of others. The case has survived motions for summary judgment and has been placed on the trial calendar. After years of depositions, signing authorizations, status phone calls from their attorney it is now time for the case to be tried. So what should they expect?

Here is the good news. There is at least a 66.6% chance that the client will recieve money. There are three things that usually happen in a trial. The case is won, lost or settled. In two out of three scenarios the client obtains compensation.

The amount of the compensation depends on the damages the client has sustained, the percentage of fault assigned to the defendant, the venue and the jury composition.

I would like to take this time to discuss the last two factors venue and jury composition (which can be the most important). The amount that a case is worth varies from venue to venue. Typically, jurisdictions in the outer boroughs of the City of New York such as Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens garner higher payouts then suburbs such as Westchester County and Long Island.

But even in better plaintiff's venues such as the Bronx or Brooklyn the value of the case can be altered by the neighborhood and the composition of the jurors. For some reason, I have found (or assumed) that certain neighborhoods in a particular venue are called at the same time. Depending on the neighborhood the composition of a person's jury could range drastically. Certain neighborhoods are known to be more plaintiff or defendant friendly. And the compensation of a typical jury can vary greatly. While one jury may award a person $40,000 for a severe life altering injury another could award that same person $4 million. Sometimes, there is no rhyme or reason for the difference in outcomes. It is just the composition of the jury.

That is why you need a skilled personal injury lawyer who has picked juries before and knows what to expect when in a courtroom.

If you have been injured, call the Law Offices of Jason B. Kessler at 1-800-346-6254