If you have suffered an injury due to someone else’s negligence, you may have a personal injury case on your hands. Dealing with the legal system can be daunting, but understanding the basic steps in a personal injury lawsuit can help you feel more confident about your options.

You may have to file a lawsuit because the insurance company is being unreasonable in the claims process, or your car accident lawyer may have advised you that the best place to begin your case is in court. Either way, you must know the steps before filing a car accident lawsuit. You can be in for a lengthy and challenging process, and you need to understand what you are up against and how things may proceed.

When you get help from a personal injury attorney, they will explain the entire legal process. A car accident lawyer will take the time to answer all of your questions before they outline your potential legal options. If you decide to file a claim or a lawsuit, your attorney will fight for you to get the compensation you deserve. Now is the time to contact a car accident lawyer for a free initial consultation if you still need to do so. Not only is the initial consultation free, but you will only owe your attorney money if you receive compensation for your car accident injuries.

How to Obtain Financial Compensation for Your Car Accident Injuries

Bag of money on the background of Judge hammer. When someone else is to blame for your car accident, you have two primary options for the legal process. Many car accident lawyers will advise you that it is worthwhile to explore dealing with the other driver’s insurance company in the claims process. You can begin either informally or through the use of a demand letter. Regardless of how you choose to file a claim, you will deal with an insurance company that will prove difficult at every step of the way. Even though the insurance company represents the other driver, its real concern is defending its financial interests.

Insurance companies may drag out your claim to gain what they think is an advantage in the negotiation process. They may deny your claim altogether or try to blame you for the accident so they can avoid having to pay you anything (or they may try to reduce your amount of compensation by the percentage of the crash they claim was your fault). Finally, insurance companies may lowball your claim or refuse to raise their settlement offer to an amount that fairly compensates you. Accordingly, you may have no choice but to take the case out of the hands of the insurance company and put it in the hands of the court system, where you will receive balanced and objective consideration from a judge or jury.

Alternatively, your personal injury lawyer will review your case and advise you that beginning with a claim is not in your best interests. They may tell you you should lead by filing a lawsuit and attempting to negotiate a settlement.

What to Know About the Car Accident Lawsuit Process

There are several key things that you should know about the court process upfront:

It can take far longer to go through the court process than it would take to file a claim with the insurance company and negotiate a settlement.
You may risk getting nothing for your claim if you cannot persuade the jury that the driver should be liable for the accident.
You are still dealing with insurance companies because they provide the insurance defense attorney representing the other driver.

Your Car Accident Lawyer Must Prepare Before Filing a Lawsuit

Your car accident lawyer must do considerable work before you can even file a lawsuit in court. They will perform a complete investigation of your car accident and gather proof that can help show that the other driver was to blame for the accident. Even though you can fill in some evidence as you go along in your court case, you need to allege sufficient facts in your lawsuit that will allow your case to proceed to a later stage in litigation.

Your Car Accident Lawsuit Begins with Filing a Complaint

Once your car accident attorney clearly understands the facts, they will draft a formal complaint in your lawsuit. A complaint is a formal legal document stating the operative facts in your case and why the driver is liable for your injuries. The complaint may also state the amount of money you seek depending on the amount of damages you have suffered.

After your lawyer has drafted your legal complaint, they will file it with the court. The case begins once you formally serve the responsible driver with the complaint, and you will typically have a process server accomplish this. Service of process starts the case and the time the defendant has to respond to your lawsuit. At this point, the defendant usually has a good idea that you are about to sue them, so they have already begun to prepare for your case.

Once the defendant has received your lawsuit complaint, they have thirty days to respond. Through their attorney, the defendant will draft an answer to your complaint that states their version of the facts. They will go point-by-point in admitting or denying the facts that you allege. If the defendant has their own story, they will tell it in their answer. If they believe you were to blame for the accident, the defendant may even file a counterclaim against you.

Although the defendant can get the court to dismiss your case after filing a motion, it rarely happens in a car accident case. Nonetheless, the defendant may file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit for reasons such as failure to state a claim or the statute of limitations expired.

The Bulk of the Work in Your Case Happens in Discovery

You may be surprised to learn that the most important phase in a car accident lawsuit occurs outside of the court. Once the defendant has answered your complaint, the case will proceed to the discovery process, which is where both sides have the right to discover evidence from each other that they may use in their case.

Discovery gives you the right to request physical evidence in the other party’s hands, and you can pose specific questions to the other side that they must answer. These questions can include interrogatories or requests for the production of documents. You can also seek physical evidence from the other party’s hands, such as records and texts.

Depositions Are a Vital Part of Your Car Accident Lawsuit

In your case, depositions are one of the most essential parts of the discovery process. Here, your car accident attorney will speak with the other driver, and the defendant will have to answer questions under oath from your attorney for some time. The point of depositions is to learn more about the other party’s side of the story and perhaps give your car accident lawyer new angles to approach the case at trial or to confirm what they may already suspect. If a party testifies a certain way at a deposition, they cannot testify in a manner contrary to that at trial.

Just like your personal injury lawyer can question the other driver under oath, the insurance company’s defense attorney can do the same to you. You must get your testimony right because it can significantly impact your case. Your car accident lawyer will be present during your testimony, but you must answer the defense attorney’s questions.

Other people may need to sit for depositions in your case. If there are witnesses who are testifying on behalf of the other driver, they will give a deposition. The same thing goes for the witnesses who may be testifying for you in court and expert witnesses who can play a role in estimating your damages. Attorneys want witnesses on the record at a deposition because it can lock in their testimony for trial.

Many Car Accident Lawsuits End in a Settlement Agreement

Your car accident case will likely settle after the case’s discovery phase. By this point, you and the insurance company have an idea about the relative strength of your respective cases. You may want to avoid a jury trial because it may not rule in your favor. At the same time, the insurance company may not want to risk facing a jury because anything can happen when a group of people collectively decide a case. It may be in both of your interests to explore a possible settlement.

You may have some discussions about a settlement with the insurance company if the negotiations have not already intensified by this point. The judge may even order the two parties into mediation to resolve the case. Remember that actual car accident trials are rare; about five percent of personal injury cases will ever head to a trial. Insurance companies usually know when they need to be more aggressive about settling cases because they can be at risk to their own driver for a bad faith lawsuit.

Trials Only Happen When You Cannot Settle Your Case

Your case will proceed to trial if you cannot reach a settlement agreement. The judge has likely allotted a certain number of days to each side to present their case. As the plaintiff, you will go first. Your car accident attorney will outline the evidence to the court, calling witnesses to testify in your favor, and you will have to testify yourself. Once your lawyer has finished questioning you, the defense attorney will cross-examine you under oath.

After your case, the defense will get to present their witnesses and evidence. Your car accident lawyer will cross-examine the defense’s witnesses, including the other driver. Once each side has completed its case, the jury will deliberate (if you have selected a jury trial – there is also an option for you to choose a bench trial, where the judge will decide your case). The jury will issue a verdict, deciding whether to hold the other driver liable. If the answer to that question is yes, the jury will also determine the amount of damages that you will receive. If the defendant loses the case, the insurance company always has the option to appeal the verdict to a higher court. The trial judge may also review the amount of damages the jury has assessed to reduce them if they appear excessive.

You Need a Car Accident Attorney to Fight for Your Rights

Gavel and two small toy car models on desk in courthouse. If you have suffered an injury in an accident, you need a car accident attorney to represent you at all times. You will certainly need a car accident lawyer if there is any chance your case may go to court (and there almost always is in any car accident case). Having a car accident attorney fight for you opens up potential legal options that you may not have if you try to represent yourself. Then, insurance companies will think that you can credibly file a case against them, raising their potential risks.

When dealing with the aftermath of a personal injury, the last thing you want to worry about is the financial burden of hiring a lawyer. Fortunately, when it comes to personal injury lawsuits, you do not have to worry about paying any upfront costs. Lawyers who handle personal injury cases typically work on a contingency fee basis, which means they only get paid if they win your case.

Contingency fees are a win-win for injured individuals. It allows you to have legal representation without paying anything out of pocket. Your lawyer will take a percentage of your final settlement or award, which means they will work hard to get the highest possible compensation for your injuries.

Hire a Personal Injury Attorney Today

If you are considering filing a personal injury lawsuit, hiring a lawyer to guide you through the legal process is essential. Their experience, resources, and negotiation skills can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case. With a personal injury lawyer by your side, you can focus on your recovery while they fight for your rights and advocate for the compensation you deserve.

What Are the Steps in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?