If the judge believes the jury’s verdict was proper, the judge will file a document called the judgment of the court. A verdict in the favor of the injured party is called a plaintiff’s judgment. A plaintiff’s judgment is a legal document stating that the plaintiff is entitled to collect the payment the jury decided was fair. It shows that the defendant got the due process he was entitled to receive and that the defendant is legally obligated to pay the money awarded by the jury.

If the defendant has an insurance policy that covers this judgment, that insurer will usually pay it without intervention from the court. However, if the defendant or his insurance company does not pay voluntarily, you may need to ask the court to force the defendant to comply. This process is called post-judgment collection procedures, and includes requests for documents such as a "writ of execution" or a "writ of garnishment." The purpose of these post-judgment remedies is to seize assets belonging to the defendant so those assets can be sold and the money applied to satisfy the judgment.

If a defendant does not have insurance and does not have assets sufficient to satisfy a judgment, the defendant can file a petition asking that the judgment be discharged. This is done in a bankruptcy court. This is a complicated area of the law and beyond the scope of this book. As a part of the decision to take your personal injury claim through the litigation process, an experienced personal injury lawyer will consider whether a defendant has the ability to pay. This discussion will occur at the beginning of your case. The ability to recover money for a favorable judgment is of primary concern.

The role of an experienced personal injury lawyer is to figure out the end of a case at the beginning, and to work throughout the case to maximize the client’s recovery. That work always includes considering whether you will get paid if a verdict is obtained.