What Are the Steps in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Have you been injured while at work? Did you find yourself on the wrong end of a car accident, and insurance can’t get involved?

Whatever the case may be, if you were injured as a result of someone else’s negligence then you could be eligible for a significant payout. However, navigating the legal waters of getting compensation for your damages can be tricky.

Are you asking yourself what are the steps in a personal injury lawsuit? If so, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll make those murky waters a little clearer so that you have the answer to that exact question.

Consult an Attorney

The first step in any successful personal injury case is finding the right lawyer. This can be a tough ask in a crowded market. The best way to find a lawyer is to go online and look at the website of each.

Be sure to choose a lawyer that has a track record of success with personal injury claims of your type.

Prove Negligence

The next step in the law process is to get together with your attorney to devise ways to prove negligence. Negligence is the failure to perform a legal duty. Without negligence, someone cannot be held legally liable for damages.

For instance, if you injured yourself using equipment at work, you have to prove that your workplace or the manufacturer of the equipment failed to perform their legal duty in making reasonable efforts to make the equipment safe for your usage.

Ascertain the Value of Damages

The next step is to figure out how much you are owed. Damages are a dollar equivalent of the value you have lost. You’ll need to put dollar values on medical bills, lost wages, reduction in quality of life, mental anguish, etc..

File Your Lawsuit

Once you have the above information, it’s time to actually file your lawsuit. You will typically have to pay some kind of filing fee and legal documents will be served to the other party.

Discovery

Once the suit is filed, each party to the trial begins to prepare evidence for its individual case. This evidence is shared between both parties.

Settlement or Trial

Many personal injury cases will be settled out of court. That means that both parties will negotiate to come to a compensation that is acceptable to both parties. Settlements may or may not include an admission of fault by the negligent party.

If a settlement cannot be reached, the case will move forward to trial where either a judge or a jury will decide on the result.