Have you ever experienced an accident? If yes, you must be aware that irrespective of where you get the injury from, it’s recommended that you file a lawsuit. Whether the personal injury is as a result of an animal attack, fall, or road accident, it’s essential for you to submit a case for a settlement.
You may think that filing a case is not important or it’s waste of your valuable time. David Preszler from Preszler Immigration Lawyers explains that it is not in your best interest to underplay or minimize a legitimate injury or limitation that may be the foundation of a personal injury case.
Therefore, if you have been into an accident that resulted in any individual damage, follow the following guidelines to help you pursue a personal injury lawsuit.
1. Seek the services of a lawyer
You must be wondering why you should hire an attorney to help file a case. Bear in mind that after an accident, you must probably be injured and worse, in a hospital bed. Don’t you think you need your hospital bill to be cleared? Here is where a personal injury lawyer comes in; to help you file the settlement case effectively.
With a lawyer who is conversant with claims regarding personal injuries, you have the surety of winning the case. Also, you don’t have to work on the paperwork, nor answer the questions of other professional lawyers in the court.
Remember that the attorney will speed up the lawsuit filing and negotiate the payments too. If you are worried that you might incur the cost of hiring an attorney and lose the case, you don’t have to pay the attorney until you win the case.
2. File an insurance claim
Your attorney can help you file a case against the insurance company of the person that caused the accident. For instance, if the injuries you have been a result of a vehicular accident, the claim will be against the cyclist’s insurance company and not the cyclist.
After filing the case, an insurance representative will investigate the cause of the accident, the intensity of the injury, and will also gather enough evidence regarding the matter.
The representative will then negotiate the payment with your attorney. Remember that your lawyer can help you get a reasonable settlement from the insurance company.
3. File a complaint
Sometimes you can settle the case with the insurance company and feel contented. However, in some instances, even your lawyer might not help you get the settlement. In this case, you have to file a lawsuit in the court.
Your attorney will help you present the complaint as well as give the court the details of how the injuries have made you suffer both emotionally, physically, and financially. Your attorney will then issue the defendant with a complaint copy.
4. Summons
The court will then issue a court order for the defendant to notify him of the case against him. The summon will include who the plaintiff is, why the complaint, when and where they will go to respond to the claims, the amount of time they will have to sacrifice to attend to the matter in hand.
The defendant will then write an answer about the complaint, either accepting to be guilty or denying the charges. Sometimes, the defendant may fail to respond to the summons, and this will give the judge a reason to find him/her guilty.
5. Discovery
The plaintiff, his/her attorney and defendant will then have a chance to gather as much information as they can about the claims. The petitioner will have to seek more about the defendant’s responses and argument.
Each party is therefore required to serve the judge with written evidence which may include case reports, medical bill, phone conversations, and medical information. All the witnesses in the case are then sworn and asked to be honest.
6. Trial begins
The defendant may choose to avoid prosecution and pay the plaintiff. However, he may also decide to continue with the case. In this situation, your lawyer will help you go to trial, and after the testimonies, the judges conclude the matter by deliberating their decision.
If you have won the case, then you can follow the right procedure to obtain your settlement from the defendant and finally pay your attorney.
Bottom line
It can be overwhelming to nurse an injury after an accident. You can waste a lot of money on your medical bills, and can suffer emotionally, physically and financially. It’s therefore advisable to file a lawsuit in the case of a personal injury as the settlement either by the insurance company or by the defendant can help you recover quickly.
