A jury trial is a legal proceeding where a group of ordinary citizens, typically 6 to 12 people, listens to all the evidence in a case and decides the outcome rather than having a judge make the final decision alone. These jurors are selected from the community and have no prior knowledge of the case, and their job is to determine the facts of what happened and apply the law as explained by the judge to reach a verdict. In personal injury cases, the jury decides whether the defendant was at fault for the accident and, if so, how much money should be awarded to compensate the injured person.
Jury trials can be beneficial for personal injury victims because juries are often more sympathetic to injured people than judges and may award higher damages, especially for pain and suffering that's hard to put a dollar amount on. However, jury trials are also unpredictable since you never know how a group of strangers will react to your case, and they take much longer and cost more money than settling out of court. Many personal injury cases are resolved through settlement negotiations specifically to avoid the uncertainty and expense of a jury trial, but having the option to go to trial gives your attorney leverage during settlement discussions with the insurance company.
