25 Surprising Facts About Injury Litigation
Injury Litigation
Legally, it is the procedure that allows you to recover compensation for your injuries and losses. Your injury lawyer will use strong evidence to support your case. This includes eyewitness testimony from witnesses, medical records as well as the statements of the defendant and expert witness opinions.
Your lawyer will bring your lawsuit. If the defendant does not respond and the case is moved to the discovery phase, which is a process of finding facts.
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 potentially liable parties and available causes of action that could be filed against them.
Once the plaintiff has done this, they are able to make a complaint and summons. The complaint details the damages caused by the defendant's or his inaction. It typically includes a demand to recover damages for the victim's injuries, including medical bills loss of wages along with pain and suffering and other damages.
The defendant has 30 days to respond, which is also referred to as an answer. In this response, the defendant may admit or deny any claims made in the complaint. They may also add a third party defendant or make an appeal.
During the discovery phase in the discovery phase, both sides will exchange pertinent information regarding their respective positions and evidence in the case. This phase includes depositions (also called interrogatories) as well as written questions (also called interrogatories) and requests for documents. This is typically the most of the timeline for lawsuits. In this phase, if there are settlement opportunities, these will be discussed. If injury attorney canton will go to trial. During this time, your attorney will tell your story before a judge or jury and the defendant will defend themselves.
The Discovery Phase
The discovery phase is a formal process that permits your legal team and the party at fault to exchange information and collect evidence. This could include witness testimony and details about your medical treatment, and evidence of the losses you've suffered. Your lawyer may also employ several tools during discovery to assist your case, including interrogatories, documents requests and depositions. Requests for documents are requests to provide all relevant documentation which is within each party's control. Interrogatories require written responses. Requests for admissions ask the other party to accept certain facts. This can reduce time and cost since the attorneys do not have to prove the facts uncontested at trial. Depositions are live interviews with witnesses. Your attorney can ask them questions regarding the incident under an oath. Their responses will be recorded and transcribing.
While discovery may appear to be a long unpleasant, time-consuming and uncomfortable process but it is an essential step to gather the evidence necessary to win your case. During your free consultation with your attorney, you can discuss the details of the discovery process. If you attempt to conceal a preexisting injury that worsened due to a preexisting medical condition This information could be discovered during the process of discovery and your case could be thrown out.
The Negotiation Phase
The majority of cases involving injuries aim to settle through negotiations. The process to achieve this goal is usually an exchange of information between your lawyer and the responsible party's 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 determine the best number to demand your settlement and assist in negotiations.
One of the issues with the process of settling an injury case is that the amount you are owed - including your medical bills as well as lost income and future losses - is a dynamic aspect. Your injuries could worsen over time. This could lead to a rise in future losses or reduce the value of your current losses. Your attorney will ensure that your damages are determined based on your current injuries and your prognosis for the future recovery.
Insurance companies usually attempt to limit their payout by arguing about certain aspects of your claim. This can cause delays in settlement negotiations but your lawyer will have strategies to help you navigate these obstacles and get the best possible outcome for your case. In some cases, the process of negotiating an agreement can take months or even years. There are many factors that affect the length of time that settlement negotiations last, but knowing the length to expect can make the process less stressful and more effective for you.
The Trial Phase
While most injury cases are resolved through settlement talks outside of the courtroom, your attorney could decide to take your case to trial if an acceptable resolution is not attainable. It is a costly, time-consuming and stressful process. The jury must also decide if you should be compensated for your injuries and, should they, if so, in what amount. Your lawyer must thoroughly investigate your case to determine the circumstances surrounding your injuries, the severity of damages, injuries and the costs.
At this moment, your lawyer will call witnesses and experts to testify, and present physical evidence such as documents, photographs and medical reports. This is the "case-in-chief" phase. The defense attorney will call witnesses to testify in rebuttal and argue why the plaintiff shouldn't be awarded damages. The judge or jury then weighs the evidence and arguments of both sides.
The judge will then go over the legal standards to be met in order for the jury to decide in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant. This is called jury instruction. Each side then presents its closing arguments. If the jury is unable to reach a consensus on a verdict then the judge declares a mistrial. If you're not satisfied with the results of your trial, there may be a right to appeal.