Injury Litigation

Injury litigation is the legal procedure that allows you to collect compensation for your losses and injuries. Your injury attorney will build strong evidence in your case including eyewitness testimony, medical documents testimony of the defendant, expert witness opinions.

Your lawyer will then submit your lawsuit. Once the defendant has responded to the suit, it moves to the phase of fact-finding known as discovery.

The Complaint

Before a lawsuit is filed the person who was injured (plaintiff), must conduct an investigation prior to filing a lawsuit. This includes reading police accident reports, conducting informal discovery and identifying at-fault parties.

The plaintiff then has the option of filing a summons along with a complaint. The complaint outlines the harm caused by the defendant's actions or his inaction. It typically includes a request for compensation for the victim's medical bills and lost income, as well as suffering and pain, and other damages arising from their injury.

The defendant has 30 days to respond, also referred to as an answer. In this response, the defendant can admit or deny any allegations made in the complaint. They can also file a counterclaim or add a third party defendant to the suit.

During the discovery phase during the discovery phase, both sides will share pertinent information regarding their positions and evidence in the case. This phase includes depositions (also known as interrogatories) and written questions (also called interrogatories) and requests for documents. This phase typically accounts for the majority of the lawsuit timeline. In this stage, if there are any settlement opportunities that are discussed, they will be discussed. Otherwise the case will proceed to trial. During this period the attorney will provide your side of the story before a jury or judge and the defendant will take on their defense.

The Discovery Phase

Discovery is a formal procedure that permits you and your legal team to exchange information with the other party and gather evidence. This can include witness testimony and details about your medical treatment and evidence of the losses you've suffered. Your lawyer can also make use of several tools in discovery to help your case, including interrogatories and requests for documents and depositions. Interrogatories are written questions that require a written answer as well as requests for documents requires the submission of all relevant documentation under the control of each party. Requests for admissions ask the other party to acknowledge certain facts. This could save time and money since the attorneys don't have to prove the facts uncontested during trial. Depositions are live recordings of witnesses, where the attorney can question them about the incident under oath and have their answers recorded and vimeo.Com translated by a court reporter.

Discovery may seem like an uncomfortable, lengthy and time-consuming process, however it is essential to collect the evidence needed to win your injury claim. Your attorney will be in a position to discuss the details of the discovery process in your free consultation. For example, if you try to hide a prior health issue that caused your injury to get worse, this information could be discovered in the process of discovery and then thrown out of your case.

The Negotiation Phase

Most cases of injury aim to settle through negotiations. This process usually involves an exchange of back-and to and back-and-forth between your lawyer as well as the insurer of the responsible party. This may include informal conversations/correspondence (by phone, in meetings, by email) where the parties trade offers and counter-offers. Your lawyer can assist you determine the best number to ask for your settlement, and then assist in negotiations.

One of the difficulties of settlement of an injury claim is that the amount of your damages - including your medical bills as well as lost income and future losses - is an evolving aspect. Your injuries could get worse over time. This could increase future loss or reduce the value of current losses. Your attorney will work to ensure that your damages are in line with the current condition of your injuries as well as an accurate prognosis for your future recovery.

Insurance companies frequently try to limit their payout by arguing about certain aspects of your claim. This can prolong settlement negotiations, but your lawyer has strategies to help you get through these challenges and reach the most favorable outcome for your case. Negotiating a settlement can take months or years. Negotiations can last for months or even a whole year based on many different factors.

The Trial Phase

The majority of washington injury lawsuit cases are resolved outside of court through settlement negotiations. However, if there is no resolution your lawyer might decide to bring the case to trial. It is a stressful costly and time-consuming process. The jury will also have to decide if you should be compensated for your injuries, and if so, how much. Your lawyer must thoroughly research your case to understand the circumstances of your injuries, the amount of damages, injuries and the costs.

Your attorney will then call witnesses and experts, and will present physical evidence, like photographs or documents as well as medical reports. This is known as the case-in-chief phase. The defense attorney will then call witnesses to testify in rebuttal and argue why the plaintiff shouldn't be awarded damages. The jury or judge will then look at the evidence and arguments offered by both sides.

The judge will explain to the jury the legal standards which must be met in order for them to make a decision in favor of plaintiffs or against defendants. This is known as jury instruction. Then, each side presents their closing arguments. If the jury cannot agree on a verdict, the judge will declare the trial a mistrial. In some cases an appeal could be available in the event that you are not satisfied with the result of your trial.