The Building Blocks of a Winning Personal Injury Case
What happens after you file a personal injury lawsuit? How long does it take to settle? And what should you expect from your attorney?
If you’ve ever filed a personal injury claim, you already know how stressful it can be. The last thing you want is to hire an inexperienced lawyer who won’t fight hard enough for your rights.
On the contrary, you should look for an experienced lawyer in your state to evaluate your case. For instance, if you are in New York, you should contact a New York personal injury attorney for more information. The same goes for any city or county where you got hurt.
The idea here is that personal injuries can happen anytime, anywhere, and affect anyone. Therefore, you deserve compensation, whether you’re injured because of someone else’s negligence or because of an accident caused by an entity (a business, your city, etc.).
Discussed below are the building blocks of a winning personal injury case.
1. Your Accident and Injuries
Every personal injury case has two components: the circumstances surrounding the accident itself and the damages that resulted from its effects on you. The first element will vary depending on which state’s law applies in your case.
The Circumstances of Your Accident
For instance, when a car hits a pedestrian and causes serious injuries or death, the driver may be held personally responsible under the law. On the other hand, if the pedestrian steps into a pothole on their way home and injures themselves, they must prove that the city was negligent.
To continue with our New York example, you can sue the city for personal injuries as long as you file a notice of claim within 90 days after the accident.
In many cases, the details of the accident matter quite a bit. If there is any question about whether the defendant was negligent, it’s important to have all available documentation about what happened before you decide.
It’s not uncommon for witnesses to become confused and forget their accounts after an accident. A police report or even a video recording of the scene can help put everything together and provide answers to questions that could clear things up later.
Resulting Damages From Your Accident
The second component is more difficult to establish. You’ll need to show through evidence that the damages resulting were “proximately” caused by accident. In some states, this means showing that they did result from the incident with reasonable medical certainty.
Other states only require proof that there is reason to believe the damage came from that incident. As always, having the best legal team around you helps determine what kind of evidence you need to present at trial.
2. File a Lawsuit
Once you’ve determined that you have a valid basis for pursuing compensation, you can move forward with filing a complaint against the party who caused your injury or otherwise damaged your property. There are several different ways to sue. The most common method is called filing a “complaint.”
Each state sets forth guidelines for what kind of document you need to submit. For example, in New Mexico, you might file a complaint using an online form. Some states also allow for filing complaints using an email address.
Check with your local court system regarding specific guidelines. Once you have submitted your complaint, you wait.
3. Waiting for Arbitration or Settlement
After submitting your paperwork, you should receive a notice stating that either your insurance company or the other side has agreed to arbitrate or settle the claims against you. This process varies slightly by state.
Typically, each party sends a letter indicating that they have accepted arbitration or settlement terms. Then, you sign these documents and send them back. For certain injuries, such as those involving children with autism, both parties must agree to set aside their differences and pursue mediation instead.
4. Obtaining Discovery/Deposition
When the time comes to start gathering various types of evidence, your lawyer will first obtain copies of medical records. These could be obtained directly from:
- The doctor where treatment took place
- Medicare if the hospital treated your injury
- Medicaid if one of those programs paid for the medical provider
Your insurer will likely pay for copies of your records.
When obtaining the medical records, your attorney will make sure the copy includes every page. Copies can come in handy when negotiating a settlement because you can use them to prove certain medical expenses during negotiations. In addition, your attorney will then be able to depose witnesses on your behalf.
Contact Expert Injury Lawyers
Every case is unique in its way, so it is best to contact a personal injury attorney to evaluate your case. An attorney can determine the building blocks necessary to put your personal injury case together. In most circumstances, you will get a first free consultation and advice on moving forward with your insurance claim or lawsuit.
