If you're seeking damages from another party due to a personal injury or other tort case, you'll want to know how to best proceed with the trial. While lawsuits are unpredictable by nature, the data on jury verdict and awards in tort law shows the amount of damages you can achieve based on the type of case you're pursuing. Personal Injury If someone causes you intentional or negligent harm, and the event results in a hospital stay, you may need to pursue a personal injury lawsuit. While personal injury lawsuits are the most common incidents--comprising around 88.9 percent of tort cases between 2002 and 2003--because of the nature of tort law, only some of the suits are over events that can also be deemed crimes. You may have a better chance of pursuing justice in civil court, where a verdict can award you damages that can cover your hospital bills and pain and suffering. Personal injury lawsuits include cases ranging from motor vehicle accidents and medical malpractice to product liability and assault and battery. If you're the victim of one of these events, your case may go to trial. Jury and Bench Trials Juries decided 71 percent of tort lawsuit cases while bench trials decided the remaining cases, between 2002 and 2003. Bench trials--a trial without a jury--saw a slightly higher rate of victories for plaintiffs, with 54 percent of plaintiffs winning in this type of hearing. The success rate for plaintiffs in jury trials was slightly less, as only 47 percent won jury trials. While a slight variation is present in how both types of trials work, a judge still has a powerful influence on a jury trial. During your case, the judge will describe key concepts, establish legal standards and make rulings on applicable and relevant information to help the jury make a ruling in your case. Despite this influence, jury trials awarded higher average damage awards than bench trials, $244,000 compared to $150,000 (Department of Justice (DOJ), 2005). Medical Malpractice and Product Liability Cases If your tort lawsuit related to a medical malpractice injury or product liability case, compensation may be more difficult to receive. Only 37 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits were won by the plaintiff between 2002 and 2003, while 34 percent of plaintiffs were successful in product liability trials. If you're litigation is successful you may be able to cover most of your expenses from the event. Out of the winning plaintiffs across all tort lawsuit cases, 84 percent were awarded monetary damages that averaged around $200,000 (DOJ, 2005). Learning the basics of intentional torts will help you understand the types of incidences for which you can pursue legal action.