There is definitely some kind of injury at the heart of any personal injury lawsuit. A personal injury case will not go far if there’s minimal proof of the plaintiff's injuries; however, the defendant‘s liability and the extent of a plaintiff’s injury are uncertain. When the damages are far too greater than the small claim court that’s $5,000 to $10,000, it’s important for a plaintiff to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer. These lawyers will give a free case review and advise a plaintiff on the best step to take.
If, after this initial consultation, a plaintiff is thought to have a case, the personal injury lawyer may conduct an exploratory investigation to determine whether or not the defendant has some insurance cover or enough assets to cover settlements. After the investigation, the personal injury lawyer finds the case viable; the two parties will sign a fee agreement making the attorney-client relationship official.
Filing a Personal injury Lawsuit
At this point, it's pretty much clear that the plaintiff has a case. Therefore, the personal injury attorney will file a personal injury complaint in a civil court. The complaint is an official document that outlines all details of what the injured party is claiming, what the defendant did, and how the injured party got harmed as a result of the action of the defendant.
After the complaint is filed, a personal injury attorney will have a month or so to find the defendant to serve him the complaint. Serving the at-fault party with the complaint is physically giving them notice of the lawsuit to limit the chances of them claiming that they didn’t know about the existing lawsuit. In addition to this, the service papers will highlight the hearing dates, which in a nutshell tells them when to appear in court.
The Defendant Will Need a Lawyer
The at-fault party will have a month to find a personal injury defense attorney. If the defendant has a cover from insurance or enough assets to offset the settlements, it would be easy to find the right personal injury defense lawyer to defend them. The defendant must notify their insurance company as soon as they know about the lawsuit (a strict rule in any insurance policy).
Once notified, the insurance company can hire a lawyer on behalf of the defendant if they’ve not hired one. Unlike Columbus personal injury attorneys who work under a contingency fee agreement, defense attorneys work hourly. If the defendant is willing to pay for a losing case out of their pocket, it is not a deterrent to these defense attorneys who will get their money either way.
Pre-Trial and the Discovery
In the pre-trial phase, each party will ask the other party to produce evidence for their claims and witness statements in a process called discovery. Moreover, both parties will appear in court to give a brief of the proceedings. They would argue it out on whether to agree or not to agree to mediation and arbitration, plus setting the trial date.
As the discovery phase unfolds, both parties will seek depositions of the other party and their witnesses. It's basically a "questions and answers" session under oath. This process can take months, even a year, as the trial date gets rescheduled. Once discovery and intermittent court appearances are concluded, the defendant may seek to throw the case out reasoning that the plaintiff can’t win in trial. Moreover, this motion always loses most of the time.
Moreover, as the trial date nears, both parties will put in all effort and ramp up settlement meetings that could bare fair compensation for the injured party. In addition to this, during such meetings, the personal injury attorney and the defense lawyer can highlight which motion will allow certain evidence to be presented in court and choose a jury.
The Trial Phase
A typical personal injury lawsuit can last for several days. The judge or jury will determine whether or not the defendant is at fault for the accident or wrongful death and responsible for the injured party's damages. They will also determine how much compensation the defendant needs to pay to the plaintiff for personal injury damages.
After the trial, either party can initiate an appeal to the verdict, which can last for months or several years. Once the appeal process has been exhausted, the losing at-fault party must pay for the damages highlighted in court or appeal.
Settlement Is Always the Probable Outcome
Most personal injury cases will go the settlement route, keeping the situation out of court. The two parties can settle at any moment in the process, even before the personal injury lawsuit is filed. With the knowledge and negotiation skills the personal injury lawyers have, they can attain a fair settlement due to their experience working through tons of personal injury cases over the years. The final settlement covers a range of damages that the plaintiff has incurred and will continue to incur due to the accident.
Was someone injured from a medical malpractice or workplace accident? The injured party can take the personal injury case to court only after talking to proficient Albany personal injury lawyers from Keating Firm Law.
What Types of Accidents Warrant a Personal Injury Claim?
Personal injury cases are quite broad and cover different types of accidents. Here are some of the common accidents victims can get compensation for.
Road traffic accidents; a person incurs personal injuries from a road traffic accident that was the other party’s fault.
Workplace accident; the employer must make the work environment safe for his employees. If an employee gets hurt in the workplace due to employer negligence, then such an employee must be compensated. The employer has a worker's compensation insurance policy covering any workplace injury.
Slips, trips, and falls; getting hurt on another man’s property or business premises due to slips, trips, or falls, which could have been avoided if the business owner was fully taking care of the premises. A good example is when a grocery store customer slips and falls, sustaining back injuries because the floor was not mopped adequately to remove wetness.
Fatal life-changing injuries; sometimes, the accident was fatal enough to cause death; loved ones may sue the at-fault party with the help of personal injury lawyers for the wrongful death of their loved one. If the accident didn't happen, their loved one would still be alive.
Medical negligence; if someone has gone through medical malpractice; they are eligible for a New Albany personal injury claim. It could be from a wrongful dental, eye, or medical treatment. A victim can consider suing the hospital if they endure pain from a medical treatment that lingered far way too long than it normally would.
Compensation for a Personal Injury Claim
The insurance company of the at-fault person is responsible for claim compensation. However, they may try to spin this on the victims to avoid spending money on settlement. Insurance firms are all about making profits and reserving them. It's therefore imperative for the plaintiff to partner with an injury lawyer to help get the following compensations;
Pain and suffering; the accident has brought emotional and physical anguish to the victim. They’ve had to endure pain and suffering throughout the process of recovery. It's only right they get compensated for it.
Lost wages; the plaintiff was not able to work and earn income during the process of recovery. Therefore, they must be compensated to recover lost wages.
Medical expenses; the victim may have to go for treatment or rehabilitation to get better. These medical bills must be paid. Therefore, the plaintiff should be compensated for past and future expenses emanating from injuries sustained from the accident.
Overall, the insurance company may also try to talk to victims by the side to try and convince them to take a lesser settlement than they are entitled to. This is wrong, but the plaintiff has no way of knowing this if they’ve not scheduled a free consultation with personal injury lawyers in New Albany. Therefore, working with injury lawyers from Keating Firm Law will ensure victims don’t get cheated out of the compensation.
Other New Albany Practice Areas
Partnering with the Keating Firm
At no fault, victims in New Albany should seek advice and legal counsel from injury lawyers from Keating Firm Law. The experience they have working on personal injury cases every day will help them assess the victim's claims and see if they are eligible for compensation. Keating Firm Law lawyers understand high-value services and would strive to ensure the best outcome. The good thing about working with lawyers from Keating Firm Law is that victims only pay them after winning the lawsuit.
These experts know how vulnerable, stressed, and in pain these victims are in those moments; that is why they try to make the process as compassionate, unobtrusive, and efficient as possible so that they can concentrate on recovery. Plaintiffs in New Albany should schedule a free consultation with them to better determine their options.