Injury Litigation

The legal procedure that allows you to recover compensation for your losses and injuries. Your lawyer for grand blanc injury law firm will construct solid evidence for your case that includes eyewitness testimony, medical documentation in the form of defendant statements, expert witness opinions.

Your lawyer will then start the lawsuit. After the defendant has reacted to your lawsuit, the case goes into a stage of fact-finding called discovery.

The Complaint

Before a lawsuit can be filed, the injured party (plaintiff) must conduct pre-lawsuit discovery. This includes studying police accident reports, conducting informal discovery, and identifying potential responsible parties.

The plaintiff can then file a summons along with a complaint. The complaint describes the harm caused by the defendant's action or his inaction. It typically includes a demand for compensation to compensate the victim for their injuries, including medical bills loss of wages, pain and suffering and other damages.

The defendant has 30 days to respond, referred to as an answer. In this response, the defendant is able to admit or deny any allegations made in the complaint. They may also include an additional defendant, or make an appeal.

During the discovery phase the parties will exchange relevant information regarding their positions and evidence. This usually includes depositions, written questions (called interrogatories), and requests for documents. This typically comprises the most of the timeline for lawsuits. If there are settlement opportunities these will occur during this period. Otherwise, the case will progress to trial. During this time your lawyer will explain your side of the story to a jury or judge and the defendant will defend themselves.

The Discovery Phase

Discovery is a formal stage that allows you and your legal team to exchange information with the other party and collect evidence. This can include witness statements, details about your medical treatment and evidence of the losses that you have suffered. Your attorney can also use different tools in discovery to help your case, including interrogatories and requests for documents and depositions. Interrogatories are written inquiries which require a response in writing and requests for documents involves requesting all relevant documents that fall under the control of the parties. Requests for admission are letters to the other party asking them to accept certain facts. This will save time and money since attorneys do not need to prove the facts during trial. Depositions are recorded interviews with witnesses, where the attorney can ask them questions about the incident under oath and get their answers recorded and translated by a court reporter.

Discovery can be an uncomfortable, long and intrusive process, but it's necessary to collect the evidence you require to win your injury claim. During your free consultation your attorney can discuss the details of the discovery process. For example, if you try to hide a preexisting condition that has caused your injury to worsen it could be discovered during the discovery process and removed from your case.

The Negotiation Phase

Negotiating a settlement is the main goal of many lawsuits involving injuries. The process of achieving this goal usually involves an exchange of information between your lawyer and the insurance company. This may include informal conversations/correspondence (by phone, in meetings, by email) where the parties trade offers and counter-offers. Your lawyer can help you determine the best number to demand your settlement and then assist in negotiations.

One of the issues with the process of settling a claim for injury is that the amount you are owed including medical expenses or lost income as well as future losses - is a constantly changing factor. Your injuries could get worse over time, which can increase your losses in the future and decrease the value of your current losses. Your attorney will ensure that damages are determined based on the severity of your injuries and the likelihood of future recovery.

Insurance companies frequently attempt to limit their payout by arguing against certain aspects of your claim. This can lead to an inability to settle settlement negotiations. However your lawyer will have strategies to assist you in overcoming these obstacles and get the best possible result for your case. In some instances negotiations to reach an agreement can take months or even years. Negotiations can take months or even a whole year based on various factors.

The Trial Phase

Most cases of injury are resolved outside of court through settlement negotiations. However, if the resolution isn't reached your lawyer might decide to take the case to trial. This can be a difficult costly and time-consuming process. The jury will also have to decide if you should be paid for your injuries and should they, if so, in what amount. Your lawyer must thoroughly investigate your case to understand the circumstances of your injury, as well as the severity of injuries, damages, and the costs.

At this point, your attorney will summon witnesses and experts to testify, and provide evidence physical such as photographs, documents and medical reports. This is the "case-in-chief" phase. The defense attorney will summon witnesses to testify for counter argument, and argue that plaintiffs shouldn't be awarded damages. The judge or jury then decides on the arguments and evidence of both sides.

The judge will then go over the legal standards that must be met in order for the jury to decide for the plaintiff and against the defendant. This is referred to as jury instruction. Afterwards, each side makes their closing arguments. If the jury is not able to agree on a decision, the judge will declare that the trial is a mistrial. If you're not satisfied with the result of your trial, there may be an appeal option.