(Newswire.net — May 13, 2017) — In the U.S., the vast majority of civil litigation consists of personal injury claims. This is a veritable goldmine for lawyers who specialize in civil law, which is why you will see so many personal injury lawyers every time you turn on the TV.
But just how common are these claims, how much do they generate on average and how long do the cases take? Well, to give you an idea of the current state of personal injury law in the United States, here are some key stats taken from recent studies.*
Common: 52% of all claims are the result of motor vehicle accidents; 15% are medical malpractice and 5% are product liability. The remaining percentage accounts for a large number of personal injury claims, showing just how varied it can be.
Success: Around 6 out of 10 cases are successful when it comes to motor vehicle accidents. This is the highest rate of success. The lowest is medical malpractice, which is successful just 2 times out of 10.
Money: Around half of all plaintiffs received less than $24,000, with the median average being $31,000. The average of motor vehicles is around 1/3rd less, while product liability and medical malpractice have averages of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.
Time: At 20 months, motor vehicle cases are resolved the quickest on average, with medical malpractice taking the longest at 31 months. However, the actual trials were over in an average of 10 days, with most cases running from 6 to 13 days.
If you have a case to submit yourself you’re advised to go to a professional lawyer, and to avoid taking the first one that you find. There is an assumption in plaintiffs that the case will speak for itself and that any lawyer will do, which is why so many individuals end up with lawyers that do not have the necessary experience or skill to take their case all of the way.
There are many lawyers out there who offer these services, from those who work on a freelance basis to those who only seem to advertise their services through cringe TV adverts and also insist on cold calling. While the services these offer may be acceptable, you’re much better off going with a company that has specialized experience in this field, such as the personal injury attorneys at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfood LLP.
*These stats all come from the National Center for Health Statistics, which is a department of the CDC.