Legal Resources

• Take photos of your injuries
• Visit a doctor if you haven’t already, preferably your own family physician.
• If you have visited a doctor, follow their care plan and attend all follow-up appointments
• Write down a narrative of what happened while it’s still fresh in your head
• Make a list of witnesses and their contact information if you know it
• Follow any additional instructions from your attorney

The vast majority of personal injury cases don’t go to trial. Most resolve by settlement before the trial date arrives. A case is most likely to go to trial when the facts are in dispute or when there’s a contested legal issue, and the court may rule either way.

The more carefully you build your case, the more likely it is that you and the other party can agree on the strength of your evidence and reach an appropriate settlement. If your case is in the minority of cases that go to trial, your attorney can help prepare you for what to expect.

While there are several factors, there are 5 that are common to most cases.

• Who is hurt? (Believability)
• What injuries you have.
• Your medical history.
• Your current medical history because of the accident.
• Your prognosis for the future.

There’s no way to precisely value your claim, but you can guess the approximate value. The value of your claim includes your economic damages like costs for medical treatment, lost wages, paying for help you need around the home, and physical therapy.

The shortest cases resolve in only a few weeks and without any formal litigation. Sometimes, your attorney can work directly with the other party or the insurance company to reach a swift resolution.

In other cases, litigation can continue for a year or more. Most cases fall somewhere in the middle. The more complicated your case, the longer you can expect it to take. You have some control over the length of your case because it’s up to you to accept or reject settlement offers.

In a personal injury lawsuit, the victim makes a demand for compensation called a complaint. The defense has time to file an answer. Both of the parties build their evidence in the case using things like depositions, interrogatories, and subpoenas. There may be preliminary rulings on gathering and presenting evidence. The parties have opportunities to reach an agreement in the case through mediation and informal settlement negotiations. If they’re unable to reach an agreement, the injury lawsuit goes to trial for a jury to decide.

You maximize your injury settlement by carefully building strong evidence in your case. It’s essential to understand all of the categories of damages that apply and build the evidence of each category of loss that you’re claiming. It’s also important to carefully prepare court filings that comply with the law in your state. When the other side files court motions, you must respond aggressively and appropriately to maximize your injury settlement.

No, pain and suffering doesn’t include medical bills. But you have a right to claim full compensation for all of your medical bills as part of your injury case. In fact, your pain and suffering compensation is on top of and in addition to your compensation for medical bills.

A personal injury is considered any injury that gives rise to legal liability of the responsible party. When one person gets hurt because another person or company acts negligently, the victim has a personal injury. A personal injury accident is a type of accident that is a legal fault. The victim may bring a claim for financial compensation against the wrongdoer. The lawsuit is a civil lawsuit brought by the victim. The victim may receive financial compensation for their injury.

A personal injury is a civil case. It’s not a criminal case where someone can be convicted of a crime and go to jail. Instead, a civil lawsuit can result in a finding of responsibility that makes the responsible party pay money to the victim. There are lots of types of cases that are personal injury cases like car accidents, slip and falls, and defective product accidents.

Yes, you can file a civil lawsuit without an attorney. However, if you bring your case on your own, you’re subject to the same standards as you would be if you had an attorney. You must follow the formalities for your case filing documents. The rules of discovery, admission of evidence, and civil procedure all apply to you. If you make a mistake, it may unravel your case even if you have a great case. While you can file a civil lawsuit without an attorney; usually, your best bet to recover the maximum amount possible is working with an experienced attorney.