In legal terms, a personal injury arises when your body, mind, or emotions suffer harm due to another party’s negligent conduct or carelessness. The injuries may arise from several incidents such as car accidents, medical malpractice, or even slip and falls, among others.
As such, compensation for your personal injuries depends on the circumstances surrounding the occurrence of injury as well as the extent of harm.
Below are the steps to follow when seeking monetary compensation for your injuries. Keep in mind that there is a statute of limitations involving personal injury cases. This is the timeline established by law, after which you cannot file a lawsuit or make a claim. Different states have varying timelines, and consulting a personal injury attorney is probably the first step you need to take when seeking compensation.
1. Get in Touch with an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney
Legal guidance is needed from the onset of your pursuit for a settlement claim. An experienced legal attorney will advise accordingly on the actions to take after weighing in the circumstances of your case. Your attorney will determine the negligence that led to your injuries, the extent of those injuries, as well as the compensation due. Also, they will present you with legal options should negotiations with the at-fault party fail.
Your legal counsel will also independently investigate the accident that led to your injuries with input from the police records, witness statements, medical records, and document the suffering you underwent arising from the accident. This will help build a solid compensation claim and justify the figures.
2. Send a Demand Letter
Here, you request a compensation package for your injuries from either the insurance company responsible or from the party at fault. A demand letter contains the liability and damages you underwent and may include lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, as well as anticipated medical costs arising from the injuries. Your compensation will largely depend on the demand letter, and your attorney should be fully involved when drafting it.
The other party will review the demands and either accept, reject, or make a counteroffer. If your demands are rejected, or the counteroffer is not good enough, you can file a personal injury lawsuit.
3. Filing a Lawsuit
If it gets here, your attorney will file a complaint in a court of law. As the defendant, you will be required to provide evidence that the other party was liable and that their negligence caused you physical, mental, or emotional anguish. The claims you seek should be justifiable in the documentation you present to the court.
4. Discovery Phase and Mediation
This phase involves the exchange of information and evidence among the parties involved. As the name suggests, a lot of information is revealed at this stage, which may make or break your case.
Upon exchanging of information, mediation between the parties may occur before or after trial. A mediator, mostly a former or current judge, is picked to help the parties reach an agreement, failure to which the case goes to trial.
5. Trial and Settlement
On trial, a jury or judge evaluates the facts presented to them and arrives at a decision; either they award damages or dismiss the case in its entirety. The law provides an option to appeal should the outcome of your case be unsatisfactory. The appellate process is somewhat different, and legal counsel is still necessary.
What are your chances of getting compensated? Well, 95% of settlement claims are settled without reaching the trial stage. All you need to do is get in touch with an experienced legal attorney to help you navigate the murky waters.
