Personal Injury Lawyer
Don’t expect any two personal injury cases to be the same. There are several ways to handle personal injury, depending on the circumstances of your case. Still, you can find a general guide to filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Conduct Investigation
Your attorney will handle the investigation of your personal injury claim. He or she will dig through police reports, witness testimony, medical records and more. During the investigation process, your attorney might meet with medical experts or any other expert that may have insight into the circumstances surrounding your case.
During the investigation, you should have regular contact with your lawyer. He or she may share documents with you or video conference with you if you can’t make it to the office. It’s crucial to stay in contact during this stage of the lawsuit, because this is where a great deal of the information is going to come from.
Send Demand Letter
The demand letter outlines your case. This letter covers your damages, liability and other compensation that you are seeking. Your opposing party reviews the letter and will accept, reject it or send you a counteroffer. This is where you make your first impression to the opposing party. Your attorney will help make sure that you put together a high quality letter.
File Lawsuit
The demand letter is your first attempt to settle your case. Often, you won’t be able to come up with a solution. If this is the case, then you’ll have to go forward with the lawsuit. Since you already have an attorney, he or she will file the lawsuit and walk you through the details of the process. There shouldn’t be any surprises when it comes to the lawsuit process.
Go Through Mediation
Before you go to trial, many seek mediation first. Trials are complicated, expensive and stressful and so most people will try to avoid them as much as possible. Mediation is a more informal process. In mediation, the two parties will try to reach an agreement with a current or former judge serving as the mediator.
Participate in Trial
If you cannot settle the case through mediation, then it will move into the trial process. In court, a jury will often judge the case and determine fault or award damages. If you still do not resolve it or if you aren’t satisfied with your award, you can appeal the decision. Most cases won’t have to go through the appellate process.
No two cases are the same. When you’re dealing with a personal injury, there are very specific circumstances that will dictate your process. Still, there are general steps that most cases follow. If you want an extensive plan for filing a lawsuit, contact a personal injury attorney today.
Source: Personal Injury Lawyer Fort Lauderdale, FL, Needle & Ellenberg, P.A.