Thousands of claims are filed everyday in order to pursue legal rights and collect damages due to all sorts of accidents. People, instead of negotiating problems, turn to litigation in order to solve their problems. We are at a point in time where we believe that it is better to have somebody to judge or resolve our problems for us instead of dealing with the problems ourselves.
People get in to all kinds of accidents every single minute of the day from:
1. Car accidents;
2. Bus accidents;
3. Motorcycle accidents;
4. Pedestrian accidents;
5. Slip and fall accidents;
6. Product liability;
7. Construction accidents;
8. Medical malpractice; and
9. Other results of negligence.
The above accidents happens everyday and you can see how pursuing almost all accidents in courts can be a problem.
First, the courts are swamped with these tort cases making the wheels of justice turn slower.
Second, it takes a lot of effort in filing claims and pursuing them in court. It doesn't matter if it is a simple slip and fall accident claim, car accident claim or aviation accident claim. The fact is that it takes a lot of time and effort to gather evidences, plan for a course of action and litigate those cases in courts.
Third, filing a case in court can be costly. Even if you are able to get a lawyer who works on a contingency agreement to assist you in your claim case, think of the consequent and incident costs in pursuing your personal injury claims in court. You need to go to your lawyer's office often to address pre litigation or post litigation matters. You need to travel to court also several times during the life of the trial. You may need to contact and meet with the witnesses and insurance personnel for the same reasons. Bottom line, there are hidden costs in litigation even in contingency cases.
Due to the above problems faced by an individual who decides to file a case in court, extra-judicial means of dealing with problems are becoming more popular. Extra-judicial process means alternative modes of resolving disputes like arbitration and mediation.
In a nut shell, it just mean that it is often times faster and less costly to talk about your problems out of court and find a reasonable settlement where both you and the defendant will be comfortable with the outcome.
Next time you get in an accident, try to talk it out with the other party first. You might be surprised that the other party might be willing to shoulder everything and be sorry about the troubles he or she has caused you.
