When deciding whether to bring a case to trial or not, it’s helpful to have statistics about the possible odds you may face. To help find answers to these questions involving trial odds, we have analyzed the percentage of plaintiff’s verdicts from 30 different injury topics and broke them down to analyze motor vehicle accident cases, medical malpractice cases, premises liability cases, products liability cases, and uninsured/underinsured motorist cases.
Motor Vehicle Accident
Of 761 total cases from 26 different injury topics, we found that 67.28% of the cases received plaintiff’s verdicts, defined as either a true plaintiff’s verdict, where the defendant is found to be 100% negligent, or a comparative negligence verdict, where negligence is apportioned by some percent to both the defendant and the plaintiff. The average percentage of plaintiff’s verdicts seen in a given injury topic was 66.96%, meaning that approximately 66.96% of cases in any given topic sample are plaintiff’s verdict cases in respect to motor vehicle accidents. 13.01% of cases resulted in a comparative negligence verdict where 38.57% of negligence was attributed to a plaintiff, on average.
Medical Malpractice
In medical malpractice cases, we see a little bit of a different trend. Of 229 total cases from 20 different types of injuries, we found that 30.57% of cases received plaintiff’s verdicts. Out of the 229 medical malpractice cases, 4.37% resulted in comparative negligence verdicts, where the average negligence apportionment to a plaintiff was 31.67%.
Premises Liability
From 555 premises liability cases across 24 different topics, we found that 45.95% of the cases received plaintiff’s verdicts, in total. 22.16% of premises liability cases received comparative negligence verdicts. The average negligence apportionment to a plaintiff was 46.18%.
Products Liability
In 187 products liability cases, we found that 39.57% of plaintiffs received plaintiff’s verdicts, in total. We saw 10.16% of the 187 products liability cases result in a comparative negligence verdict, where 32.20% was the average negligence apportionment to a plaintiff.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist
Finally, of 164 uninsured/underinsured motorist cases, we saw 78.66% receive a plaintiff’s verdict. Only 4.88% of the uninsured/underinsured motorist cases received a comparative negligence verdict; if they did, we calculated an average negligence apportionment of 45.25% to any plaintiff.
Of course, every case is different, so you should not base your decision on statistics alone. It is helpful, however, to know how juries tend to treat different types of cases.
If you have been injured, call us at 850.224.3310 for a free consultation. Our attorneys will discuss your case with you and determine if further action is appropriate. As always, we work on a contingency fee basis- you pay nothing up front. Our fees and costs come out of any settlement you receive.
