How Do Injury Lawsuits Work?
While every injury case is different, most follow a similar pattern. The first step is seeking medical assistance as soon as you can. This is important because some injuries, such as concussions may not have any obvious symptoms.
Your lawyer will prepare and mail an agreement demand letter to the negligent party's insurance company. This will initiate the process of negotiation to settle your claim.
The Complaint
The complaint is the legal document you (the plaintiff) will use to explain the way in which the defendant's actions or inaction directly caused your injuries. The complaint also includes a demand for compensation, which is a monetary amount you want to receive from the defendant for your damages. It also includes a demand for declaratory judgment or injunctive relief, compensation and actual damages (monetary) and costs, punitive damages and interest.
It is a good idea to hire an injury lawyer to write your Complaint to ensure it adheres to all the rules of the court where you will be arguing. This is especially true when your case may be challenged by the insurance company of the opposing party, that has lawyers who have experience in handling such cases.
When your Complaint has been prepared, it will be filed with the appropriate court and personally delivered to the person or entity who injured you. This process is called service of process and it assures that the defendant gets the Complaint in its entirety, including your request for damages.
The defendant must respond within a specific timeframe after receiving a copy your Complaint. In the event that they fail to do so, they risk being found in breach of their obligations to you. The defendant's response could be in the form of a formal answer to the Complaint, a Motion Dismiss or a Counterclaim.
When the defendant files their response to your Complaint, both sides will begin exchanging information for pre-trial discovery. Your attorney will need to collect evidence and details about the accident, your injuries, and the losses you suffered.
One of the most important tools available to your injury lawyer in this phase is called a Request for Admission. Your lawyer will ask the defendant a series of questions to verify or deny their answers under the oath. This can be used as a tool to pinpoint areas of the case that might require more investigation, such as witness testimony or medical records.
The Litigation Period
In most civil law nations there are laws that are referred to as statutes of limitation. These laws state that a lawsuit must be filed within a certain time frame after an injury, or else the right of action will expire. This is commonly referred to as being "time barred."
Statutes of limitations vary depending on the country and the nature of the case. However, the majority of them allow plaintiffs to sue for breach of contract or personal injury within a number of years after the incident that caused the injury.
It is sometimes difficult to determine the exact date of the statute of limitations, when the clock starts to tick. It is based on the date of the harm, or the date that the damage is discovered. It could be based on the date that a judge would think a person reasonable should have discovered that they had been injured (such as when it's a mental illness that is not apparent or an illness that is not readily apparent).
The clock will begin to count down from the date that the damage was committed, or from the day when the damage was discovered by the plaintiff. Sometimes, a court can extend the time period for a statute of limitations, or call it off in specific circumstances. Medical malpractice could be a case where a doctor mistakenly removes a patient's spleen during an operation. As such, the patient may be subject to an extended two-year limitation.
The judge will make his decision on the basis of the evidence presented by the parties. The written decision will contain the facts that the judge has found to be true, as well as the legal implications that result from these. The judgment will include instructions regarding who is responsible for the amount. Typically the plaintiff will be required to pay any damages that are awarded, while the defendant will be ordered to pay for all costs associated with the trial. If the judge finds that the defendant is responsible and the defendant is found to be at fault, the defendant could be ordered to pay the claimant's legal fees.
Negotiation
In the process of litigation parties will usually try to reach a compromise on a case. This is usually done in order to save money on costs such as court fees and expert witnesses, for instance. It also reduces time and stress of going to trial. Lawton injury lawyers You Tube of settlement negotiations is to reach the amount that covers all losses, including medical bills, lost wages and suffering and pain. It could also include the compensation for a family member's loss in wrongful death cases. Be aware that insurance companies will often attempt to underpay you. This is why it is important to have an experienced personal injury lawyer, such as the ones at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., on your side throughout this process.
Negotiation is a non-binding, dispute resolution procedure that can take a variety of forms. It can happen during the course of litigation or after a jury has come to the verdict of a trial. It is a common process that occurs on all levels of society, both at an individual basis as well as on a the corporate and governmental levels.