Introduction
Once you fail to reach an agreement, your lawyer can help you file a lawsuit. Most personal injury lawsuits are settled before advancing to the court level. But the filing of a lawsuit in a court of law may be the next and only option you have if an insurer doesn’t agree to pay fair and full compensation.
A lawsuit filing starts the formal litigation process, which may end up in a court trial where findings are made based on the claims of the two sides. However, most lawsuits settle after being filed and before they reach the trial stage.
More than 90% of cases in the personal injury field are resolved before trials commence. It’s possible for your case to fall in the other 5%. If this is the case, an experienced Cumming car accident lawyer should be well-prepared to face the judge. That is why you need to partner with a knowledgeable car accident attorney in Cumming.
Let’s discover what to expect once you file an auto accident case in Cumming.
Written Discovery
Once you file a car accident lawsuit, the parties involved are expected to exchange written questions seeking comprehensive information about defenses and claims, as well as document requests. Written discovery, in most cases, includes:
- Specialty-prepared interrogatories: An attorney prepares questions specifically for the lawsuit in question.
- Form interrogatories: A pre-printed form from the judicial council of your state, which includes commonly asked questions in a personal injury lawsuit.
- Requests for admission: Requests are directed to a party that accepts certain facts in order to limit the problems that will require solutions during the trial process.
- Requests for document production: Written requests to a concerned party to provide documents that support the parties’ contentions.
Your personal injury lawyer in Cumming will prepare and serve the opposing parties with different written discovery forms. Also, you and your attorney will need to answer written discovery. With your lawyer, you’ll be able to prepare and formalize the responses.
Mental and Physical Examinations
When one party claims ongoing mental or physical injuries, the court allows the defense to ask the victim to provide a mental or physical examination. The defense side needs to hire a health expert to conduct the examination.
Record Subpoenas and Depositions
Depositions involve proceedings where witnesses or parties are asked oral questions by personal injury lawyers. The attorneys ask these questions in the presence of court reporters and, after taking oaths, to tell the truth under the perjury penalty.
When it comes to record subpoenas, these are requests for documents a party issues in in a car crash case to an entity or individual that isn’t a party to the case. In most cases, subpoenas are issued to the victim party’s healthcare experts and workers for employment and medical records.
Your lawyer will have the chance to make valid objections to the subpoenas when warranted and to gain access to the records being created and produced.
Settlement and Mediation Conferences
These proceedings allow the parties to meet with a judge, neutral lawyer, or any other legal expert who’ll try to facilitate serious and confidential settlement negotiations between the concerned parties in an informal or relaxed setting.
Personal injury case mediators don’t make decisions to value or fault but try to persuade the claim and defense parties to reach an agreement or settlement of the lawsuit.
Trial and Appeal
During a filed lawsuit proceedings, all involved parties will get the opportunity to present their pieces of evidence and arguments before a judge or jury. These parties, as well as expert or lay witnesses, will be requested to provide their testimonies.
The car accident lawyers will make data-driven arguments to safeguard the rights of their clients’ contentions. Ultimately, the jury or judge will make findings, and potentially, a compensation determination will be awarded to the party that filed the case.
The party that filed the lawsuit has the responsibility to appeal the judge’s verdict. An appeal allows a higher court to review the verdict of the judge and determine whether it’ll be overturned or stand.
These are the things you should expect if you or your loved one has been involved in a car accident and wondering what to expect when a lawsuit is filed. Work closely with an experienced Cumming car accident lawyer to boost your chances of receiving just compensation.
