The First Steps in Car Accident Litigation

Our firm of tenacious lawyers will draft an official demand letter if the insurance company refuses to pay you the amount you need for your injuries. This letter will provide a detailed description of your economic damages such as medical expenses and lost wages as and non-economic losses like discomfort and pain.

Then a jury or judge will then make a decision. If they rule in your favor, they will give you damages and the defendant must pay them.

1. Gathering Evidence

In a lawsuit for a car accident, proving liability and negligence is key to obtaining compensation for your injuries and losses. The first step in the lawsuit process is to collect evidence. This includes photographs, documents, witness testimony, official reports including police reports and other official reports.

Photographs of the scene of the accident may assist your attorney in determining what actually transpired during the collision, including the positions of both cars following the collision, skid marks, road debris and other physical evidence. Record the names and contact information of any witnesses who saw the incident. Witnesses that testify to support your account of events is important, especially since it can be common for drivers to have contradictory reports of what happened, which causes insurance companies to refuse to accept the claim or denying responsibility altogether.

Other forms of evidence your lawyer might use include medical records. These could include bills, receipts and diagnosis reports, laboratory results, discharge instructions, and other documents that show the severity of your injuries. You should seek these documents as soon as you can and ensure that you provide copies to your healthcare providers.

A deposition is another form of evidence your lawyer might use. It's an out-of court testimony given under oath, and then translated by a court reporter. Your lawyer may use the testimony to establish the fact that your injuries had an immediate and predicable connection to the arizona accident attorney and can be used to justify compensation for your injuries. While the majority of these types of evidence are gathered at the accident scene or soon afterward, some of them may not be accessible until later in the litigation process. This is why it's important to consult a highly-credentialed lawyer in the event of a car accident as soon as possible, so that they can begin investigating as evidence is in its purest form.

2. Making a Complaint

After the dust has settled and you have tended to your injuries, it's the time to seek professional legal advice. A car accident lawyer can offer you the knowledge to maximize your compensation.

The first step is to file a complaint with the court. This document will outline your specific claims and the amount you'd like to claim in damages. This type of document is typically drafted by an attorney and then filed in the court. It is also served to the defendant.

The discovery phase begins by allowing both parties to share information regarding their defenses and claims. The process can take a long duration and both teams will have to look over a variety of documents including police reports and witness statements. They may also have to look at medical records or bills, as well as other documents. Each side may request interrogatories. They are a set of questions which the other side has to answer under oath within an agreed upon timeframe.

In this phase, your lawyer will also collaborate with doctors to ensure that they have a complete understanding of the severity of your injuries as well as the impact they have affected your daily routine. Your attorney will calculate your total damages that will include past and future medical expenses as well as lost earnings, pain and suffering and much more.

Your lawyer could be able to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company of the driver who is at the fault. This is more likely following discovery, but before trial. If the insurance company refuses a fair settlement or if your losses are significant and not covered by insurance, then you could be required to appear in court. A judge or jury will decide the case on the basis of all evidence.

3. Discovery

Discovery is an important phase in any car accident case. This is where your attorney and the negligent insurer for the driver exchange information that could support or hurt your claim. Your attorney will request copies of documents that support your case, huenhue.net such as police reports, medical bills or work-related loss records (e.g. the records from your employer which reveals how long you missed work due to the mobile accident law firm) photos of your vehicle and any injuries or damage or other pertinent financial information. Your attorney may also employ documents for discovery in writing, such as interrogatories and requests for production to inquire about parties and witnesses who are not present.

These tools for discovery in writing are distributed back and forth between attorneys of both sides. Written discovery tools allow the opposing side a chance to respond to questions in writing that must be answered under oath. They also ask you to provide copies of other information which could be helpful to you.

Your Long Island car accident attorney will also question witnesses and any other person with information about your injuries or damages that could be essential to your case. During a deposition the lawyer representing the at-fault party will ask you questions and your responses are recorded on video by an official court reporter or recorded.

These pre-trial investigation procedures are designed to assist your lawyer create a compelling case against the responsible party and their insurance company in order to negotiate a fair settlement for all your injuries, expenses and losses. While there is no guarantee that all cases will settle, the majority do in the course of or following the discovery process, which is often be completed before the trial.

4. Trial

Trials are a possibility in situations when you and the insurance company disagree regarding the fault of the other party or the amount of compensation you should receive for your injuries. A trial is an official proceeding in which both sides are required to argue their case and provide evidence before an impartial factfinder who takes a decision on how to settle the dispute. In personal injury cases the factfinder will usually be a jury.

During the trial, your lawyer will present your version of events in opening statements to the jury along with any supporting evidence you may have, such as pictures or videos of accident scene, testimony from bystanders and medical professionals, as well as documents like police reports and medical bills. You can also provide testimony about your memories of the incident and how it has affected your life. Expert witnesses will also provide evidence to support your assertions. The lawyer for the defendant may cross-examine witnesses and object to the admissibility of certain evidence.

At trial, the jury must determine if the plaintiff's injuries were the result of the defendant's negligence. They will be looking at proximate causes, a complex legal concept that law students have to spend hours studying. Proximate cause examines the degree of connection between the actions of the defendant and the plaintiff's injuries.

A jury must also decide how much compensation you should receive. It's also a complicated matter because it is based on the degree of your injuries and the amount to which you've suffered. Your lawyer will provide evidence that includes expert testimony regarding the severity of your injuries loss of income, future earnings potential, as also your pain and suffering as well as impairment.

5. Settlement

Every state has a time limit that you must meet to resolve your claim or file a lawsuit. This is known as the statute of limitations. If your lawyer is unable to reach a settlement with the insurer, you could be required to file a lawsuit in court. It can be lengthy and expensive, yet it is often necessary to pursue compensation.

During the discovery procedure, your Long Island personal injuries lawyer will attend hearings and take part in discovery (a process formal where both sides exchange information with one another). Your lawyer will also make legal filings, also known as motions, asking the court to do things like excluding certain types of evidence from trial. Settlement negotiations can go on throughout the process, and a majority of civil disputes in car accidents settle before a trial can be held.

Insurance companies are more likely to offer fair settlement offers if they believe that your injury claim is solid and that you will be willing to go to trial. Settlement is faster and less risky compared to the court trial.

It is essential to understand the extent of your injuries prior to agreeing to a settlement. You must have completed all medical treatment. You could be denied additional compensation if settling the settlement until your physician has concluded that you have reached the level of medical improvement that is the highest. Also, you should not sign the release until you've met with your lawyer and had full understanding of your losses. Your lawyer will make sure that you don't lose the opportunity to receive a valuable amount of compensation. They will review your medical records, and other documents, to ensure that you receive all the compensation you're entitled to.