Process of Personal Injury cases

I've said it before and I will say it again.....YOU WANT HOW MUCH?

If you have been keeping up with this blog you will understand.  If you haven't you can follow catch up with us by clicking here.

I've mentioned a few things that a Personal Injury Attorney will do for you but what is the process?



They:

1. Gather your medical records which is not always easy.  If you are like me; visiting a Doctor is the last thing you ever want to do.  With my case a negative had to be proved.  Proving that my injuries were not pre-existing was difficult.
2. Follow your medical care as long as you are a client.  Every time you see a Doctor, Chiropractor or anyone that treats you for your injuries a report is sent to your Attorney.  Your Attorney has to review this information and analyze what the best approach for YOU is.  Now you know why your file is so thick :)
3. Evaluate police reports, eyewitness accounts and your situation to determine liability for you, liability for the person who caused the accident and all parties involved.
4. Staying "on-top" of your case and knowing when you are close to maximum medical improvement commonly referred to as MMI.  What this means is you are as good as you are going to get.  When this happens the rules of the game change.
5. Paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork.  The letters that are sent out, on your behalf, is astronomical.  Letter introducing the Attorney and informing all parties that they are representing you and no one is to call you; all calls about your case are to the Attorney's office.  (This in itself is very time consuming as your Attorney may receive multiple calls from multiple agencies, companies, Doctors, etc. in a day about your case.)  Notice of claim, Demand letters are just the beginning.
6. Deadlines, deadlines and more deadlines.  Anything to do with the court system has deadlines.  Not only does the Attorney need to complete the paperwork but they have to have it filed by the deadline.
7. More paperwork.  If a settlement cannot be reached than a Complaint and Summons has to be served on the Defendant(s).  More deadlines as once these are filed with the court than the Defendant(s) have to be served which is not always an easy process.

Now comes the fun and even more time consuming areas of your case:  Discovery.  Discovery used to be fun as everything was a big secret UNTIL the trial.  Now Discovery is no longer a "secret" and the justification for this; fairer trials and both sides would know what they were "up against" so more settlements were offered before trial.

Interrogatories:  (You may hear them called Roggs) are, most often the first step in Discovery.  This is a list of questions, given by both sides, that you are required to answer in writing.

Investigation:  Although this is usually done outside of the Discovery process it allows the Attorney to get a "clearer" picture of the accident.  The investigation includes photos, witness statements, a mock drawing or video of the scenario and visits to the scene.  

Another part of the Discovery process is the deposition.  This is a non-court meeting with all parties to for questions to be answered.  Although this information is considered "hearsay" and is not, generally, admitted into court.  There are some exceptions to the hearsay rule: (Cornell University Law School)

• The first is when a party admits something in a deposition that is against his or her interest. 

• The second is when a witness's testimony at trial contradicts their deposition. 

• The third is when a witness is unavailable at trial. See Federal Rules of Evidence, Article VIII.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT factor of depositions you need to KNOW and be AWARE of:  WHO you ARE will be under the scrutiny of the opposing party.  The Attorney will report back to the insurance company how they "feel" a jury will view you.  Always dress appropriately, be well groomed and clear on what you are saying.  It is essential that the opposing Attorney views you as a person the jury would love, a person the jury would connect with and a person the jury would award damages.  
Understand that with every Doctor you have confirming your injuries they will have one that will try to discredit them.  Don't let this worry you.  If this was not a standard practice and if Personal Injury Attorneys were not accustomed to these tactics there would be no Personal Injury cases.  Do not get emotional if you are told that their Doctor says you are not hurt...it is just a defense and they will throw as many out there as they can to limit the damages they have to pay out.

Over 95% of civil cases are settled out of court.  This is a very good percentage when it comes to Personal Injury cases so do not be discouraged, disappointed or upset if your Attorney tells you a settlement was reached and it is their advice that you should accept it.  Remember it is your Attorney who investigated this.  It is your Attorney who did the Discovery.  It is you Attorney who has been with you from the beginning.  All Attorneys have to take any settlement offers to their clients.  The good Attorneys will explain why accepting or denying is a good idea.

Now that you have (just an) idea of what goes on with a Personal Injury case the contingency fee doesn't seem that much does it?  Could you do all that was listed here?  Plus all the other stuff that goes along with your case that wasn't mentioned?

I strongly encourage you to hire a Personal Attorney.  Finding the best one for you will make all the difference in the world.  If you need help in finding an Attorney you can click here and it will help you decide.






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