Experiencing an accident is something that most people consider traumatic. It doesn’t need to surprise us why people often need more time to psychologically get back to normal as these situations truly mark our entire life.
That especially counts if individuals experience some bigger injuries. However, if you are not guilty in any way, then filling a personal injury claim against the at-fault party would be a clever move. You are not doing that to get money; your main goal should be to look for justice, and the money will come as a reward.
Unfortunately, everything sounds easy only in theory. The reality is a lot different than that. There are multiple stages you will have to pass before you even get to the trial. Because of that, we suggest you read this article and educate yourself about all the details that are relevant to your personal injury case. Let’s find out all the stages that exist and help you go through them with a couple of useful tips.
1. Everything Starts with an Attorney
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We do believe that you have the desire to go throughout the process on your own. However, you are not qualified for something like that. Besides, there are millions of papers you will have to collect as evidence as well as a lot of responsibilities you are probably not ready for. That is the reason why the entire process starts with a meeting you will have with an attorney.
Keep in mind that not every attorney is going to be good for you. You need to collaborate only with those that are qualified for personal injury cases. Their experience will help you to get the justice that you deserve. Fortunately, finding the most appropriate ones isn’t difficult at all as there are many of them like brandonjbroderick.com that will manage to help.
So, which documents should you bring to the initial meeting? Everything that confirms the damage you experience including medical reports, medical bills, prescription expenses, evidence about the income that you lost, a summary of your suffering, etc. If you collect all these documents, you move to another stage!
2. Investigation of the Case Starts
With all the documents that you bring, the attorney will have the chance to investigate the entire case. That way, he or she will manage to determine whether his client (you) has a viable claim against the at-fault party.
There are multiple documents the attorney will review. For instance, the person you collaborate with will put into consideration the police report, photos of the accident, the statements of the witnesses, medical records and bills, etc.
In most cases, attornies collaborate with experts from different fields that can reconstruct the accident as well as determine how big the damage you experienced actually is.
3. Filing the Insurance Claim & Demanding a Settlement
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An attorney knows how to properly prepare the demand letter that will fully outline the accident you experienced. That letter will contain all the information about your injuries, damages, and other stuff. What will happen next directly depends on the insurance company. The insurer will have three options – to accept the claim, to reject it, or to simply propose a counteroffer.
Here comes the moment when you need to be sure that your attorney is experienced enough. Only the best ones will determine whether the counteroffer is something you can both accept. If not, you will both continue with a personal injury lawsuit and try to get the offer that is in your best interest.
4. Filing the Personal Injury Lawsuit
Unfortunately, most cases do not settle in the previous stage. Because of that, your task is to file a personal injury lawsuit. With an experienced attorney, you will not have to worry about anything in this part. All you will have to do is to allow the attorney to use all the documents that confirm all the legal rights that you have for the recovery from the personal injury. The attorney will properly determine whether all the documents are legit. We are sure that is not something you could do on your own.
5. Now, Discovery Phase Comes
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Here comes the meeting between attornies of both sides. You as well as the other side have a full right to ask for all the documents and information necessary for the trial. Despite that, both sides need to have the statements of all the witnesses that were at the accident scene.
6. Negotiation and Meditation Stage
Resolving the issue is sometimes possible outside of the trial. Mediation is the procedure where both sides try to find a good solution together with a third party that is fully neutral. Some parties manage to find a solution this way. However, if not, the next stage is going to the trial.
7. Trial
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The attorney you hired will represent you on the trial. He or she will manage to present all the information and pieces of evidence that you both collected during the previous stages. Of course, the other side will also have certain documents against your claims, and they will potentially bring some witnesses as well. Logically, after presenting all the evidence, the judge will decide how big your damage is and how much money you can get.
8. Final Stage – Appealing the Decision
The 8th stage is the final one and it allows both parties to appeal the decision. You have the right to do something like that in case you are not satisfied with the decision of the judge. For instance, you as well as another party can require the judge to review the judgment once again. Logically, the most experienced attornies are going to know when something like that is a smart move and when you should accept the decision. Because of that, we once again invite you to hire only those attornies that have a lot of experience with personal injury cases.
Final Thought
We have finally come to the end of this article. As you see, the entire personal injury case has 8 stages and each one is equally important. It is hard to believe that you wil manage to represent yourself on the trial in case you are not familiar with the laws. Besides, why would you expose yourself to such pressure when there is someone who can handle everything and work in your best interests.
