What to Expect During the Accident Litigation Process

Accidents are unexpected.  They happen in an instant and yet can create havoc in your life, your work, and your ability to move forward and take the next step.   While you are injured due to the negligence of another party, there are steps you can take with the assistance of a skilled car accident attorney or personal injury attorney in order to receive compensation for injury.  It is not recommended to go through this process alone, the laws can be complex and leave you with undesirable results.

Step 1 – Meeting with your attorney

This step helps you understand your right, what your case is worth.  It also helps you determine the relationship between you and your lawyer.

Step 2 – Investigation

Step 2 is essential in substantiating the claims of the case.  Your attorney along with the team of investigators and experts use this phase to collect the facts of the case including police reports, insurance paperwork, witness testimony, and photographs.  This is when your attorney asks you the particulars of the case.  It is important to provide him or her with all of the relevant details.

Step 3 – Negotiations

At this point, there may be enough information to approach the negligent party’s insurance company to determine if a settlement can be reached based on the merits of the investigation and substantiated claims.  If a fair settlement is negotiated the case ends here.

Step 4 – Complaint and answer

This is the actual beginning of litigation.  A complaint is filed with the courts describing the details of what happened and the resulting injuries and damages.  This complaint is then delivered to all parties by a court-appointed officer of the law.

Step 5 – Discovery  

This is the questioning of the litigation process.  Each representing attorney has the opportunity to conduct an interrogation and question the plaintiff and the defendant about the claims of the case, the accident, and the sequence of events as they recall them.  All relevant documents gathered during the investigation are presented here as well.

Step 6 – Motions

Once both sides are heard, either attorney may file a motion with the courts to dismiss or get a determination on a particular aspect of the case.  Depending on the judge’s decision, the case could be dismissed or moved on to trial.

Step 7 – Mediation  

Mediation is a final attempt to settle the claim out of court.  An impartial mediator is brought in to help discuss a potential settlement.  If no settlement is upon, the case moves to trial.

Step 8 – Trial

In this final phase of the litigation process, all the information is brought into court before a judge or jury.  This can be a long process—it could take a year or more to appear in court and it may not provide the results expected.

The litigation process can be overwhelming and stressful, but there is no reason you have to go into it alone.  Contact Dennis & Winningham Law today for a free consultation regarding your case.