The Importance of Venue

The temperaments, predilections, and politics of people vary from person to person, house to house, and county to county. However, there are identifiable consistencies that do appear among the different demographics as you move around the State of Georgia. For instance, as a group, the people of Fulton County may collectively think a bit differently than those of Forsyth County—and this information could prove to be useful. For Georgia personal injury attorneys, the county in which a case is tried can mean the difference between a substantial settlement and a smaller one. Trial venues can make or break a case, and both plaintiff and defense attorneys are aware of it.

The importance of venue is illustrated in a recent Atlanta truck collision case. The case involved a man who was severely injured when a tractor-trailer rolled over because it was hauling too much of a load. The victim/plaintiff sought damages from the parties responsible for the truck crash. His personal injury attorney was able to file the case in a plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction. The defense, recognizing this, had it removed to a much more conservative jurisdiction. Their argument was that the new venue was in the same county where the plaintiff was residing at the time. The plaintiff's attorney had the case dismissed and re-filed it again in a plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction. The defense then tried to remove it to federal court, but was not successful. The case was ultimately settled before trial—largely because the plaintiff's attorney had won the battle over venues with the defense.

Because personal injury awards are a matter of public record, it's not difficult for both plaintiff's attorneys and defendant's attorneys to determine which jurisdictions have proven to be pay out large settlements. While plaintiff's attorneys don't always have the luxury of multiple jurisdictions from which to choose, when the opportunity avails itself, personal injury lawyers are wise to select the one that is favorable to their clients.

Naturally, just because the venue is not friendly to plaintiff's, does not mean that the claim is not worth pursuing. Venue is merely a widely recognized piece of leverage that a plaintiff's attorney can use to get his or her client a large settlement without a protracted legal battle in the Georgia civil courts.