The first step is speaking with a Personal Injury lawyer. The initial consultation is where you as the potential client will be able to ask all questions you may have as well as hearing the experienced Personal Injury attorney’s perspective on your potential case. An initial consultation is the first of the steps within a Personal Injury suit, this is when you will speak about fees or payments, damages, causes of action, and much more.
After speaking with an attorney, the attorney will then begin to help investigate your case, serve the necessary documents, and file the appropriate court documents. This step contains all important aspects of the pre-litigation stage, such as drafting and sending a demand letter, requesting billing and medical records, investigating causes of the accident, and much more.
Following the pre-litigation phase, some cases will enter the trial phase. It is very rare for a case to go to trial, thus most times a case will settle in the pre-litigation phase. However, if your case does not settle during pre-litigation, you will then begin the litigation process. Your attorney will then begin and complete legal court documents, including a complaint, summons, and any discovery. Trial can be a long and difficult process, but the process is made easier with an experienced trial attorney because they know how to draft and file the correct documents, motions, discovery, and much more.
The last phase in a Personal Injury case is the settlement or post-trial phase. Most cases do not make it into the courtroom, thus whether you are in the pre-litigation phase or in the litigation phase you will eventually end in the settlement or post-trial phase. Most cases will settle before the case gets brought to court, thus skipping the trial step. During a settlement, the defendant will agree to compensate the plaintiff. This process usually starts by sending a demand to the defendant for compensation. The defendant will then answer with an offer. After there has been a demand with a reply, there will usually be more negotiations that take place in order to ensure adequate compensation for your Personal Injury case. If your case does go to trial and the court enters a verdict in your favor, then it is up to the court to determine how much compensation is reasonable based on the claim being brought. This will be based on the evidence presented, questioning of witnesses, allocation of fault, and much more. A case in court can be a long process, however it may be necessary if the defendant does not reply to the demand with an adequate amount of compensation. This last phase is usually the last step to the high reward of compensation.