Injury Attorneys Litigation

The legal procedure that allows you to collect compensation for your injuries and losses. Your lawyer will create solid evidence in your case that includes eyewitness testimony, medical documentation in the form of defendant statements, expert witness opinions.

Your lawyer will then begin to file your lawsuit. After the defendant responds then the case goes to an inquiry stage known as discovery.

The Complaint

Before a lawsuit is filed, an injured person (plaintiff) must conduct pre-lawsuit discovery. This includes reviewing accident reports and conducting informal discovery and identifying potential liable parties and available causes of action that could be brought against them.

The plaintiff can then file an order with a complaint. The complaint is a formal declaration of the party that is being sued and details the harm caused by the defendant's conduct or inaction. It typically includes a request for compensation for the victim's medical expenses loss of income, suffering and pain, as well as other damages arising from their injuries.

The defendant has 30 days to respond, referred to as an answer. In this response, the defendant is able to acknowledge or deny the allegations made in the complaint. They can also include a third party defendant or make an appeal.

During the discovery stage during the discovery phase, both parties will share relevant information regarding their positions and evidence. This process includes depositions (also called interrogatories) and written questions (also called interrogatories) as well as requests for documents. This usually accounts for the majority of the timeframe for a lawsuit. If there are settlement possibilities these will occur during this time. The case will proceed to trial if there's no settlement. In this time your lawyer will explain your side of the story before a judge or jury and the defendant will defend themselves.

The Discovery Phase

Discovery is a formal process that permits you and your legal team to share information with the other party and collect evidence. This may include witness testimony and details about your medical treatment and evidence of losses you've suffered. Your attorney will have access to a variety of tools to assist you during discovery, such as interrogatories and requests for documents. Requests for documents are the requests to supply all relevant documentation which is within each party's control. Interrogatories require written responses. Requests for admission are letters to the other party asking them to admit certain facts. This can save time and money since the attorneys don't have to prove the facts in court. Depositions are live interviews of witnesses, where the attorney can interview them about the incident under oath. They will get their answers recorded and transcribing by a court reporter.

Although discovery can appear to be a long painful, invasive and uncomfortable process however, it is an essential step to gather the evidence required to win your injury claim. During your free consultation with your attorney, you can discuss the details of the discovery process. For example, if you try to hide a prior health issue that caused your injury to get worse, this information could be discovered during the discovery process and removed from your case.

The Negotiation Phase

Most cases of injury aim to settle the case through negotiation. The process for achieving this goal typically 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 in deciding on the number of settlements you wish to seek and assist with negotiations.

The amount of damages, which includes medical bills, lost wages, and future losses, is an aspect that changes. Your injuries can get worse over time, which can increase your future losses, and reduce the value of your current losses. Your attorney will ensure that your damages are determined based upon your current injuries and the prognosis of future recovery.

Insurance companies typically attempt to limit their payout by arguing against certain aspects of your claim. This can cause delays in settlement negotiations but your lawyer will have strategies to help you navigate these difficulties and achieve the most favorable outcome for your case. Negotiating an agreement may take a long time or even years. Many factors affect the length of time settlement negotiations last, but understanding what to expect can make the process less stressful and injury attorneys more effective for you.

The Trial Phase

While most injury cases are resolved by settlement negotiations outside of court, your attorney may decide to take your case to trial if a fair solution is not reached. This is a stressful, expensive and time-consuming procedure. The jury must also decide if you should be compensated for your injuries and, If so, what amount. Your lawyer should investigate your case to understand the circumstances of your injury lawsuit, the extent of damages, injuries and costs.

Your attorney will now call witnesses and experts and 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 call witnesses to testify and argue why the plaintiff shouldn't be awarded damages. The jury or judge weighs the evidence and arguments of both parties.

The judge will explain to the jury the legal standards that must be met in order to decide in favor of plaintiff or against defendant. This is called jury instruction. Each side then gives its closing arguments. If the jury is unable reach a consensus, the judge will declare a mistrial. If you are not happy with the result of your trial, there may be a right to appeal.