If you are considering filing a personal injury lawsuit, you are probably concerned about the outcome. If you invest all that time and money into the lawsuit, you probably want to be sure that you will get some sort of positive outcome. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees when filing a lawsuit, but there are some things that you can do to help ensure that you have a positive experience. Here are a couple tips.

1. Have Realistic Expectations

Many people mistakenly think that if they win a lawsuit it is like winning the lottery. Although there are a few cases where the winnings are really high, the majority of cases have smaller, more reasonable winnings. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics the average amount that people win in a civil case is around $28,000. Although this is a good sum of money, it is nothing near what you might expect if you file for millions of dollars.

Thus, before you file the lawsuit you should calculate how much you expect to pay in legal fees, the realistic amount of money you will get from the suit, and the amount of time you will spend. If it still seems worth your time and money, then go for it. Otherwise, you might want to hold back, seeing that the winnings may not be worth it.

2. Try to Settle

The majority of civil cases settle, and for good reasoning. The amount of time and money that you will spend if you take a case all the way to court and appear before a judge is huge. Paying an attorney to litigate something for you, is incredibly expensive, not to mention it could take a long time actually get a court date. This is why you should try to settle if at all possible.

Settling is generally better for both parties because it is a compromise. Instead of having a winner and a loser, like you would in court, both sides can determine the right compromise for the situation. In addition, it is a major gamble to go to court. You don't know what kind of judge you are going to get, if they will be sympathetic to your cause, and you can't control the other factors of the case. You have more control if you can keep it in negotiations and settle. For this reason, do everything you can to settle and avoid court.

By doing these two simple things you can have a more positive experience, should you choose to file a personal injury lawsuit. For more information, talk to a lawyer like Otorowski Johnston Morrow & Golden P.L.L.C.