Going through the personal injury claim process isn’t easy. You aren’t only dealing with recovering from an injury. You’re also dealing with a complex legal process you don’t understand.
But when 70% of personal injury claims have successful results, it makes sense to go through the process. You may not have the resources to handle your injury without holding the other party responsible.
Knowing what’s in the personal injury lawsuit process is vital for navigating it successfully. Below are the steps you’ll go through when dealing with personal injuries and the legal process that goes along with it.
Get Medical Treatment
Medical treatment should be your first goal before you start any part of the personal injury claim process. You don’t want to start putting together a case without all the details. Getting feedback from your doctors will give you what you need.
Spend enough time at a doctor’s office to learn what’s wrong with you. Learn about every detail of your injury and how the accident contributed to your problems.
You don’t want the other party to try and dismiss an injury as something that happened in your past. Get as much detail as you can from your doctor confirming your accident injury.
Case Investigation
Once you decide on a lawyer to represent you, the next step in the claim process is investigating your case. Your lawyer will gather all the details about your injury and look for ways to apply the law to your case to prove your claim.
Start by providing as much detail to your lawyer as possible. Give them access to your medical records, accident witnesses, official reports, and whatever else possible.
At that point, your lawyer will review everything about your case. They will also contact experts to get confirmation about medical reports and other aspects of your case. They will do whatever possible to confirm your case is valid and has a chance of success.
File Your Complaint
Once your lawyer has reviewed all the details and determined that you have a case, the next step is filing your complaint. Your lawyer fills out the appropriate paperwork, files it with the court, and starts the legal process.
Once you file your complaint, a copy gets sent to the other party. They must respond to the complaint to agree to the terms or challenge your case.
If the other party wants to challenge your claim, the lawsuit will proceed to the next phases.
Consult With a Lawyer
The next step to file a lawsuit for personal injury is to find help. Personal injury is complex, so you don’t want to go at it alone.
A personal injury lawyer will help you during this process. Start by searching your local area for someone experienced with local injuries. Since laws can change based on where you live, you need someone experienced with your local rules.
Take someone that lives in McAllen, for instance. Find a personal injury lawyer in McAllen who has a successful history of personal injury cases in the area.
Discovery Process
The discovery process of the litigation process is when both sides gather information from others. This means the defendants will talk to witnesses, get facts, and build a case to defend themselves.
The plaintiff, in this case, can do the same thing. The lawyer now has the power to question individuals to gather additional details they may not be able to during the initial research process. They can officially request information from doctors, lawyers, and other parties to help their case.
This process normally has a time limit before the case proceeds.
Mediation and Negotiation
Many personal injury cases don’t head to the courtroom. During the discovery process, each side learns what’s available to them and uses that as leverage to come to a settlement.
The mediation and negotiation phase is that process. A neutral mediator sits with both parties to talk about the case. They discuss the case’s merits and how they believe things should proceed.
This process will also look at settlement negotiations. Going to court is sometimes too costly for both parties. It makes sense to come to a settlement that works for everyone in that situation.
If no settlement comes from this process, the case will head to the courtroom.
Go to Trial
The trial is the final part of the personal injury process. If neither party can agree, you’ll take everything you have to a courtroom to present your case to a judge and jury.
There are several parts of this process.
- Jury selection
- Opening statements
- Testimony
- Cross-examination
- Closing statements
Once the jury has heard both sides of the case, they will deliberate and decide the case. If they find the other part at fault, they will discuss the settlement and what they believe is the amount you should get for compensation.
This process will take anywhere between a few days to a few weeks. It depends on how complex of a case you bring to court.
Familiarize Yourself With the Personal Injury Lawsuit Process
Going through a personal injury lawsuit can be a stressful time. You aren’t only trying to recover from personal injuries. You’re also trying to hold the party responsible to account and get compensation for your experience.
If you aren’t familiar with the personal injury lawsuit process, you may struggle to do things the right way. But now that you’ve read the guide above, you should know more about navigating the process, which makes winning a lawsuit easier.
