Am I going to have to go to trial?

This is a question most clients ask and it is a good one.  People want to know how far they’ll need to go to enforce their legal rights.

The answer?

Statistically, the chances your personal injury case will settle are pretty high.

You can view the number of proceedings across Ontario on The Ontario Superior Court of Justice webpage.

Personal injury cases fall under Civil Court, under three separate categories:

• Medical Malpractice
• Motor Vehicle Accident
• Personal Injury.

At Bergeron Clifford Injury Lawyers we also assist clients with long-term disability denials – which would fall under the category of contract law.

Are There Any Statistics That Show If My Case Will Be Settled Before Trial?

There are some nuances with the data that make it difficult to calculate the exact percentage of personal injury cases that settle compared to ones that will proceed to trial.

However, the majority of personal injury claims resolve before a judge ultimately renders a decision at trial. Roughly, 10% of personal injury claims make it all the way to a trial. This statistic only shows matters where a lawsuit was started. Sometimes, personal injury cases resolve even before a lawsuit.

Even if your case makes it to a trial, it is possible for it to settle during the trial, or before the final judgement call is made.

The Court’s website states that a matter is “disposed of” if a final order is entered.  It is a common practice in the personal injury sector that instead of getting a final order after settlement, the plaintiff will simply withdraw their claim.  There is a possibility that these withdrawals are captured in the Court’s data.  If not – the portion of cases that make it to trial would be much smaller than 10%.

Statistics Canada also offers some Court Data: For the 2024/2024 year, 2,286,077 civil cases were started in Ontario but there were only 12,334 trials.  This data is not exclusive to personal injury cases, but it suggests that < 1% of civil cases started in Ontario actually make it to a trial.

Will My Personal Injury Case Settle?

There is a very good chance your personal injury case will settle before a trial.

That said, some cases must be tried.  There are many different reasons why cases go to trial, and when a client walks through the door, I have no idea whether their case will be one of the few that does.

We do always prepare every case as if it is going to trial.  This helps us secure fair settlements for our clients.  Insurance companies will only pay if they see real risk, and they only see real risk if you’re actually prepared to follow through with a trial.

It is ironic in a way.  If you and your lawyers are ready and willing to go to trial, there’s a higher chance you can get a reasonable settlement beforehand.  If the insurance company expects you to fold like a cheap suit, they will push the case toward a trial in hopes that you’ll accept a low offer just to avoid the ordeal of Court.

So yes, there is a high probability that your case will settle before a trial – but you should also be ready to accept that it might not.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, call us today and we’d be happy to look at your case.  We try our best to obtain a fair settlement for our clients before trial, but we’re ready and willing to go to trial if needed.