You might wonder as to what goes on in a typical personal injury case. You might wonder as to how long it takes.
Getting medical treatment
This is the very first thing that you should do after getting injured in a certain accident. If you are injured, make sure to go to the hospital or visit a doctor. When it comes to health, this is the right thing to do. If you do not see a doctor for some time after an accident, the insurance adjuster and the jury will surely assume that you were not that hurt.
Picking a lawyer
This comes next. If you have a strong claim, it is important to choose a South Florida personal injury lawyer. You must make sure to choose the lawyer right after the injury. You can settle a minor personal injury claim yourself. However, you should still consider talking to a lawyer. If you have suffered from severe injuries or losses, you will need a lawyer for any personal injury claim.
If you are out of work for more than a few days, you should hire a lawyer. You must decide to talk to some lawyers. Once you choose a lawyer and sign a fee agreement, he/she will start to work on your injury case.
Investigating the injury claim
This is a major step. The medical records also need to be reviewed. The lawyer interviews you about how the accident happened, your medical condition, your background, and medical treatment. The attorney wants to know everything that might be relevant to the accident. He/she will make sure to ask all questions to know more about your injury and treatment. Usually, lawyers do not really want to be surprised. So, you must go ahead and answer all the questions honestly.
It is then that the lawyer will get all of your medical records plus bills associated with the injury. Also, he/she will get your medical records for any treatment that you have ever had associated with the condition at issue. This can take some months.
Once the lawyer collects all the medical records, the lawyer will review them in order to see if there is a possible case. Now, the lawyer might be able to determine that there is no case. In that case, he/she will deliver the bad news to the client early on.
Making Demands
There are many small personal injury claims that are settled prior to the filing of a lawsuit. If the lawyer is of the opinion that the case can be settled, they will go ahead and make a demand to the other lawyer or the insurance company of the other side.Else, your lawyer might go ahead and file the lawsuit. Generally, if your claim is about permanent injury or impairment, a genuine personal injury lawyer will not settle it prior to filing suit.
A genuine personal lawyer will not make a demand until the plaintiff has attained a point of maximum medical improvement that is referred to as MMI. MMI is the stage when the plaintiff has ended his/her medical treatment. This is mainly because when the plaintiff has reached MMI, the attorney does not know the actual value of the case.
The attorney should not file a lawsuit until MMI. This is mainly because if the plaintiff is not at MMI when the case goes to trial, the jury might give less value to the case. It could take some months or years for the plaintiff to attain MMI. However, a genuine lawyer will decide to wait, if the plaintiff can afford to wait financially. Of course, if the plaintiff requires money, then the attorney should put the case in a suit early on.
Filing of the lawsuit
The filing of the lawsuit usually begins the clock running on when the case is getting to trial. The pretrial procedures of every state vary. However, it will take some years for a personal injury case to get to trial. You need to remember that a lawsuit is required to be filed within certain time limits. These time limits are set by every state has set by passing a law that is referred to as a statute of limitations.
The Discovery Process
The discovery process is a procedure in which all the parties look into the legal claims and defenses of the adversary. They usually send interrogatories and document requests to one another. Also, they take depositions of every relevant witness in the personal injury case. It usually begins with the plaintiff and the defendant. This process can last for 6 months. It depends on the court’s deadlines as well as the complexity of the personal injury case.
Mediation and Negotiation
With the ending of the discovery period, the attorneys will start talking about settlement. Certain times, the lawyers can go ahead and settle a case by talking among themselves. However, some tend to go to mediation. Mediation can be defined as a process in which both clients and lawyers go in front of a mediator in order to settle the personal injury case.
Trial
In general, mediation works. However, if it does not work, the case is likely to go for trial. Depending on the severity of the injury case, a personal injury trial can last a day, a week or even longer. The duration of the injury case may be increased since, in many states, trials are held for only ½ a day and not a full day. This pretty much doubles the duration of a trial. However, it also lets the lawyers and judges get certain other things done.
When a lawsuit is scheduled for trial, it does not mean that the trial will occur on that date. Trials tend to get rescheduled due to the schedules of the judge. If your trial gets canceled due to some reason, you should not assume that the lawyers are conspiring against you. In general, trials are delayed all the time.
Some key factors that impact the settlement value are the defendant's assets, the plaintiff's losses and liability.
Getting medical treatment
This is the very first thing that you should do after getting injured in a certain accident. If you are injured, make sure to go to the hospital or visit a doctor. When it comes to health, this is the right thing to do. If you do not see a doctor for some time after an accident, the insurance adjuster and the jury will surely assume that you were not that hurt.
Picking a lawyer
This comes next. If you have a strong claim, it is important to choose a South Florida personal injury lawyer. You must make sure to choose the lawyer right after the injury. You can settle a minor personal injury claim yourself. However, you should still consider talking to a lawyer. If you have suffered from severe injuries or losses, you will need a lawyer for any personal injury claim.
If you are out of work for more than a few days, you should hire a lawyer. You must decide to talk to some lawyers. Once you choose a lawyer and sign a fee agreement, he/she will start to work on your injury case.
Investigating the injury claim
This is a major step. The medical records also need to be reviewed. The lawyer interviews you about how the accident happened, your medical condition, your background, and medical treatment. The attorney wants to know everything that might be relevant to the accident. He/she will make sure to ask all questions to know more about your injury and treatment. Usually, lawyers do not really want to be surprised. So, you must go ahead and answer all the questions honestly.
It is then that the lawyer will get all of your medical records plus bills associated with the injury. Also, he/she will get your medical records for any treatment that you have ever had associated with the condition at issue. This can take some months.
Once the lawyer collects all the medical records, the lawyer will review them in order to see if there is a possible case. Now, the lawyer might be able to determine that there is no case. In that case, he/she will deliver the bad news to the client early on.
Making Demands
There are many small personal injury claims that are settled prior to the filing of a lawsuit. If the lawyer is of the opinion that the case can be settled, they will go ahead and make a demand to the other lawyer or the insurance company of the other side.Else, your lawyer might go ahead and file the lawsuit. Generally, if your claim is about permanent injury or impairment, a genuine personal injury lawyer will not settle it prior to filing suit.
A genuine personal lawyer will not make a demand until the plaintiff has attained a point of maximum medical improvement that is referred to as MMI. MMI is the stage when the plaintiff has ended his/her medical treatment. This is mainly because when the plaintiff has reached MMI, the attorney does not know the actual value of the case.
The attorney should not file a lawsuit until MMI. This is mainly because if the plaintiff is not at MMI when the case goes to trial, the jury might give less value to the case. It could take some months or years for the plaintiff to attain MMI. However, a genuine lawyer will decide to wait, if the plaintiff can afford to wait financially. Of course, if the plaintiff requires money, then the attorney should put the case in a suit early on.
Filing of the lawsuit
The filing of the lawsuit usually begins the clock running on when the case is getting to trial. The pretrial procedures of every state vary. However, it will take some years for a personal injury case to get to trial. You need to remember that a lawsuit is required to be filed within certain time limits. These time limits are set by every state has set by passing a law that is referred to as a statute of limitations.
The Discovery Process
The discovery process is a procedure in which all the parties look into the legal claims and defenses of the adversary. They usually send interrogatories and document requests to one another. Also, they take depositions of every relevant witness in the personal injury case. It usually begins with the plaintiff and the defendant. This process can last for 6 months. It depends on the court’s deadlines as well as the complexity of the personal injury case.
Mediation and Negotiation
With the ending of the discovery period, the attorneys will start talking about settlement. Certain times, the lawyers can go ahead and settle a case by talking among themselves. However, some tend to go to mediation. Mediation can be defined as a process in which both clients and lawyers go in front of a mediator in order to settle the personal injury case.
Trial
In general, mediation works. However, if it does not work, the case is likely to go for trial. Depending on the severity of the injury case, a personal injury trial can last a day, a week or even longer. The duration of the injury case may be increased since, in many states, trials are held for only ½ a day and not a full day. This pretty much doubles the duration of a trial. However, it also lets the lawyers and judges get certain other things done.
When a lawsuit is scheduled for trial, it does not mean that the trial will occur on that date. Trials tend to get rescheduled due to the schedules of the judge. If your trial gets canceled due to some reason, you should not assume that the lawyers are conspiring against you. In general, trials are delayed all the time.
Some key factors that impact the settlement value are the defendant's assets, the plaintiff's losses and liability.
