What is the process of a personal injury case?
When you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, or someone else is responsible for another reason, you should be compensated for your injuries. When you have a personal injury claim, you need to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer to have the best chance of collecting what you deserve.
You can be sure insurance companies, and many businesses will have plenty of lawyers on hand to try to keep their clients from having to pay you. Employers also will try to compensate you as little as possible if you are hurt on the job.
Work-related injuries, car wrecks, and general personal injuries are the main kinds of injuries that could result in a court case. General injuries could be a dog bite, a child injury or slipping and falling on someone’s property
If you are injured you should get medical attention immediately. The longer you wait the harder it will be to establish how serious your injuries were. If your injuries are beyond minor, it is a good idea to see a personal injury lawyer and discuss your case. The lawyer may want to wait until you have had treatments and recovered as much as possible before actually filing a suit.
Gather all the information you can. Avoid signing anything. Sometimes car insurance companies will try to get you to sign a paper saying you have received treatment and are relieving them of owing you anything. Most lawyers would also advise not talking about your injury with anyone who is involved.
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The process
Once you have met with a lawyer there are several steps involved before your case gets to trial. Most cases never get to trial. Often the parties work out a settlement that is satisfactory to everyone involved. When that happens the case is finished.
But the lawyer will need to get a lot of information from you first about your case. The lawyer will review the case, and medical records to determine the best course of action.
Negotiating
In a relatively minor injury case, the attorney may simply write a letter demanding certain things, like having your medical bills paid. That can be negotiated between the attorneys and the case is never
The lawsuit
If an agreement cannot be reached your lawyer will file the lawsuit in court. Your case could take a year or two. Once the suit is filed the discovery phase begins. It is here that both sides learn what the other side is claiming. The two sides answer some questions from each other and documents are shared.
Discovery and motions
During the discovery phase negotiations can continue and sometimes cases are settled at this time.
Similar to the discovery phase is the motions phase, which can be considered the same thing or taken separately. The defense will usually ask the judge to dismiss the case
Mediation
Mediation, which is where a third party hears both sides and makes a determination, is often done after discovery. Cases often go to mediation after negotiations have stalled or a settlement cannot be reached. The mediator is someone knowledgeable in the law and someone that is agreeable to both sides. Though a mediator will make a determination, you are not obligated to accept what the mediator decides. If mediation does not work you will then go to trial.
After the trial
If you win the other side could appeal, and you can appeal if you lose. Winning the case may not mean you will get your money immediately. You may need your lawyer more than ever after the case is won. You may have to wait for the appeals process to work. Collecting money is also not always easy. Companies will at times try to stall or avoid payment even after judgment and even after having lost an appeal. Once the money is finally collected, your attorney will turn the money over to you. The lawyer also gets paid at this point and the case is over.
Final thoughts
Every state has its own rules and its own processes. It can be a very complex operation to get through a personal injury case. Your personal injury lawyer will be familiar with the laws in your state and can sort through the maze for you. This is one of the main reasons to get a personal injury lawyer to work on your case.
