What Are The Stages Of A Personal Injury Lawsuit?

A majority of people don’t know what a personal injury lawsuit is. When you get injured physically or emotionally because of someone else, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against that person to claim compensation for your loss.

You can hire a lawyer or you can go forward on your own, but hiring a lawyer is always the best-case scenario because a personal injury attorney is familiar with the law, your attorney will know the ideal way to handle the situation in a decent, and acceptable way.

6 Important Stages Of A Personal Injury Lawsuit

Below you’ll be reading about what happens during every stage of a personal injury lawsuit and what’s the right way to handle it;

1. Medical Treatment

One of the first things that you need to do after getting injured is; getting medical care as soon as possible. Doesn’t matter if the injury is serious or not, you’ll need to visit a doctor and get the treatment you need.

Not only for the sake of your health but also because this will help you with your case later since most insurance companies try to get out of paying by claiming that the injury wasn’t serious enough to consult a doctor.

2. A Personal Injury Attorney

If you ever find yourself stuck in a personal injury lawsuit, having an experienced personal injury attorney on your side will be proven as a plus point. If it’s a small claim, you’ll be able to handle it on your own, but you’ll need an attorney if the other party is putting up a fight.

Having the right personal injury attorney will increase the chances of you winning the lawsuit. What you should do is evaluate a couple of attorneys, then choose who you think is right for your case.

3. Investigating And Gathering Evidence

At this stage, you don’t have to do much work. Your personal injury attorney will handle most of it. One of the first things your attorney is going to do is interview you. You should tell them every detail of the injury. Along with the medical reports.

This stage is for the attorney to evaluate the amount of compensation for your loss, as well as to gather evidence against the opposing party just in case they try to get out of paying you the deserved amount. It’s your attorney’s responsibility to keep you updated at every step. So your main focus could be healing from the injury.

4. Negotiating

Most small personal injury cases are settled before you can even file a lawsuit. Your attorney will typically demand a fair amount of compensation from the other party. If both parties come to a mutual understanding, the person responsible for your injury will compensate you and you won’t need to file a lawsuit.

If not, then you’ll be moving forward towards the next step, which is filing a lawsuit.

5. A Personal Injury Lawsuit

After your attorney will file a personal injury lawsuit against the person responsible for your loss, all you’ll need to do is wait for the trial. The pretrial phases are different in every state. It generally takes a year or two for a personal injury case to go for a trial. But remember, that a personal injury lawsuit needs to be filed within some time limits that are different in every state.

The pretrial phase generally consists of two stages, discovery, and mediation.

Discovery Phase

In this phase, both parties interrogate each other, gather all the information and evidence from each other as well as any third parties involved. There’s ‘written discovery', which includes all kinds of interrogatories and all the documentation, and then there’s deposition, during which, everyone involved in the case (witnesses, plaintiff, defendant, etc.) are questioned by an attorney.

Mediation

You can request mediation at any time during a personal injury case. In mediation, both of the parties, along with their attorneys, consult a neutral mediator. Both parties will present their cases and the neutral party mediator will help them resolve the case. Nobody will be bound to the mediator's decisions, which means you can accept the offer, or reject it.

6. Trial

During a trial, your personal injury attorney will typically present your side of the story in front of the judge (or the jury). The opposing party’s attorney will defend them. The judge will listen to both the parties and then decide whether the defendant is responsible for your injury or not, and if so, how much money he owes you.

Conclusion

Having a personal injury attorney can be beneficial for you in so many ways. So what are you waiting for? Hire the best personal injury attorney in Knoxville TN, so even if you find yourself in such a situation, you’ll have nothing to worry about.