The Basics of the Personal Injury Lawsuit Process
If you’ve suffered a personal injury, you’re probably thinking about what you need to do next. The whole process can be a little overwhelming, but you should try to keep calm. Here are the basic three parts of a personal injury lawsuit to help you understand the basics of the process.
The Accident
Personal injury lawsuits always begin with the accident. Whether it is a vehicle accident — which is one of the most common causes for personal injury claims — slip and fall, animal attacks, or pedestrian accidents, this is always the starting point for a personal injury case. If you do sustain an injury as a result of an accident, the first thing you should do is seek medical attention. Then you should start gathering and documenting information to start building your case.
The Counsel
The next part of personal injury lawsuits is finding counsel and the building of the case. You should find a personal injury lawyer in your geographic area since laws can vary according to it, and find one that has experience in the area of law that you need assistance in. Try looking online for a lawyer or asking family and friends for referrals. Your lawyer should be someone that you communicate well with since you’ll need to be able to tell them exactly what happened.
The Settlement
In cases that have favorable outcome for the injured party, the last part of personal injury lawsuits is the settlement. Almost all of personal injury cases — 95 to 06% of them — are resolved before the case ever makes it to trial. Typically the settlement is paid to the injured in the form of structured periodic payments.
The whole process is, of course, much more complicated than just three steps but these are the basics of what to expect in the event of a personal injury. Once you’ve found the right lawyer, the process should go much more smoothly and you won’t have to figure things out on your own. This is a great source for more.