The injured victim from an accident seldom takes into consideration the jury’s part in the process used for making the responsible person accountable for his or her actions. While the victim gives little thought to the jury’s role, the lawyers for each of the disputing parties views the jury differently. Each of them asks this: What could be the jury’s ruling, if this case were to go to court?
How would it approach issues of liability?
That would not be of concern to a lawyer, if the evidence made it clear that the defendant was responsible for the accident. Sometimes, though, a plaintiff can be shown partly responsible. Then the jury decides what percent of the contributory causes came from the plaintiff, and what percent the defendant introduced.
Under the principle of comparative negligence, if a plaintiff got saddled with the bulk of the contributory causes, then that same plaintiff’s reward would get greatly reduced. According to the principle of contributory negligence, the same plaintiff would not receive a single cent.
Did the government place a cap on the size of the reward for pain and suffering?
If that were the case, then the judge would have the right to reduce any award granted by a jury, if it fell above the cap. A Personal Injury Lawyer in London cannot try to overlook the cap. Still, lawyers do not enjoy explaining to a client why the figure quoted at the time of the verdict is different from the amount of money that the same client eventually receives.Juries must deal with awards that cover future costs, or loss of future earnings.
The reward is stated in a value that matches with the future. Still, the jury needs to reduce the same award, so that it agrees with present-day values. Judges normally provide a jury with some guidance, as those 12 men and women struggle to handle that particular task.
Jury’s possible need to make a different reduction in the plaintiff’s reward
Sometimes a plaintiff has already been paid for some of the damages. For instance, an injured employee might have received worker’s compensation. Plaintiffs with health insurance normally had their medical bills paid by their health care provider.
The court does not want to arrange for the plaintiff to receive more than he or she deserves. For that reason, the jury could need to reduce the size of the reward that the jurists have granted to the plaintiff.Here again, the judge might offer some guidance. Still, this is not an easy task. The results of the jury’s calculations determine the amount of money that goes to the person that won the case, the person that initiated the personal injury lawsuit.