What to Expect During a Personal Injury Lawsuit

A personal injury can bring physical pain, financial distress, and psychological uncertainty into your life. Nevertheless, understanding the personal injury lawsuit process can help you regain control. Below is a sample preview of the journey that may lie ahead for you.

Understanding the purpose of a personal injury lawsuit

It is manifestly unjust for you to have to suffer losses caused by someone else’s misconduct. Personal injury lawsuits are a way that you can compel the responsible party to pay you full compensation for these losses.

Damages

“Damages” are compensation for all of your accident-related losses, both tangible and intangible. They may include medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and the cost of future medical care. The goal of compensation is to restore you to the same position you would have enjoyed had you never suffered the injury–at least as far as money is able to accomplish this objective.

Beware: Contributory negligence

Washington, D.C., is one of the few US jurisdictions that applies a strict contributory negligence system. If you were at all responsible for your own injuries, you would be barred from recovering any compensation.

 

However, special exceptions apply for bicyclists and pedestrians. Under D.C. law, bicyclists and pedestrians can still recover partial compensation as long as they are less than 51% at fault.

Initial consultation with a personal injury attorney

Almost any personal injury attorney will offer you a free initial consultation. The consultation is your chance to tell the lawyer about your case and explore your legal options. The lawyer may ask you to bring certain documents with you.

Typically, if you hire a lawyer, they will not charge you attorney’s fees unless they win your case. If they win (meaning any recovery at all, either in court or via settlement), they can take a certain predetermined percentage of what you recover.

It is important that you choose a lawyer who is familiar with the Washington, D.C. legal system.

Investigation and evidence gathering

Should you choose to hire the lawyer, they will proceed to gather evidence to piece together your case– accident reports, medical records, witness statements, and other items of evidence. Do your best to gather evidence as early as possible (photographs at the scene of an accident, for example). Your lawyer may even visit the scene of the accident.

The demand letter

Your lawyer will send a demand letter to the defendant, the insurance company, or whoever else is responsible for paying your claim. The demand letter will outline your injuries and break down your damages (medical expenses, pain and suffering, etc.). The main purpose of a demand letter is to seek a settlement before resorting to a lawsuit.

Filing the lawsuit

If the other side refuses to offer a reasonable settlement, it may be time to file a lawsuit. This involves filing a formal written complaint with the court clerk, paying a filing fee, and having a third party notify the defendant of the lawsuit.

Typically, the defendant has 21 days to file a written answer if they were served in D.C. If the defendant ignores you and fails to respond, the judge may enter a default judgment in your favor. In other words, you win without a fight, although you still must prove your damages before the judge will enter any final judgment.

The pretrial discovery process

The next stage of litigation is pretrial discovery. The purpose of pretrial discovery is to gather evidence under court supervision. Each side will gather evidence from the other side, and the court can sanction an uncooperative party. Evidence gathering may include:

• Depositions, which are out-of-court, under-oath cross-examination of opposing witnesses
• Interrogatories, which are written questions the other side must answer under oath
• Demands for the production of evidence and documents (a copy of a waiver of liability, for example)
• Requests for admissions, which ask that the other party admit to certain relatively uncontroversial facts that neither party wants to bother proving

Pretrial discovery can lead to a great deal of admissible evidence.

Pretrial motions and hearings

The next stage consists of pretrial motions. A motion is a request for the court to do something, such as issue an order. Common pretrial motions include motions to dismiss the lawsuit and motions for summary judgment (a request for the judge to decide the case without taking it to the jury). Hearings may be scheduled to resolve these issues.

Settlement negotiations and mediation

You are likely to be in a much better position to negotiate a private settlement of your claim after the discovery process, because you will have more evidence on which to base your claim.  A trained mediator might be able to help you reach a settlement. The judge will probably require mediation before they schedule a trial.

Although most cases settle before trial, no one can force you to accept a settlement offer. You can always withdraw your lawsuit in exchange for an acceptable settlement offer.

Going to trial

The first stage of trial is voir dire, the process of jury selection. Once the jury is empaneled, each side’s attorneys will present their opening statements. After that comes witness testimony and cross-examination, presentation of evidence, and closing arguments by both sides. Most trials take place over several days, but others take weeks to conclude.

Once the court issues a verdict, it becomes legally binding unless successfully challenged through post-trial motions or an appeal, which are generally difficult to win. If you win but the defendant refuses to pay, you can ask the court to collect the funds for you through bank account seizure, wage garnishment, etc. Insurance companies typically pay valid judgments, though collection may sometimes require additional court actions.

From demand letter to verdict, lawsuits can take weeks, months, or years, depending on the facts.

Your own role

Observe the following tips to protect your claim:

• Act quickly to gather evidence and hire a lawyer
• Don’t talk about your case on social media
• Strictly follow your doctor’s orders
• Keep thorough records and receipts of medical treatment, bills, and other related expenses
• Follow legal advice and keep in contact with your lawyer

Your choice of which law firm to hire will probably turn out to be the most important decision you make in your entire case.

We’re ready to lace up our gloves for you

At Nace Law Group, we take on the toughest cases and put all of our resources behind them. We fight relentlessly for the rights of Washington, D.C. accident victims. Call us or fill out our contact form to arrange a free case evaluation with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys.