A car accident lawsuit can be very laborious. They are seldom dealt with quickly, rather, they take months and months of hearings and visits to court before a decision is made. If you have found yourself the victim of a car accident and are about to challenge the party responsible for it in court, then look no further than this page to tell you everything you need to know about winning your car accident lawsuit. Your defense lies with your legal counsel, so you must find the best attorney you can, which will be mentioned further down this page.
Above all, the best advice that this page can give you is to drive safely. Avoiding a car accident lawsuit is certainly better than winning one. Driving irresponsibly can have serious consequences for you and for whoever you are unlucky enough to hit. Globally, the number one cause of accidents is negligent drivers. Whenever you venture out onto a roadway, it is your duty and responsibility to drive carefully and responsibly. Pay attention to everything happening around you, never drive when tired or intoxicated, and make sure your car is serviced when it needs to be.
Here are eight steps to winning your car accident lawsuit.
1. Documentation
The preparation must begin before you have even contacted an attorney. You must, at the first instance of a car accident, begin compiling evidence. Of course, address injuries or damages first, but record when the car hit you, how it hit you, and where it hit you. All of this will be very clear at the time of the accident, but if you do not record it, it will gradually become hazy and you will not be able to recollect details as you may have been able to before.
2. Lawyer Up
The next stage, following your compilation of evidence and the accident itself, is to lawyer up. The professional accident attorneys in Tate Law Offices say that in the result of a car accident wherein a serious injury occurs, the victim can claim up to three-hundred and fifty-thousand-dollars. With money like that potentially on the table, you must pursue your claim and contact an attorney. When finding an attorney, you must, of course, find the one with the best local reviews and a length of experience.
Many personal injury attorneys work on a no-win and no-fee basis; if you are short of cash, this may be the option for you. No-win and no-fee attorneys work for free and will only take payment (usually a percentage of your award settlement) afterward. These attorneys will only take your case if there is a very good chance of you winning, so if you find that they do take on your case, it is a good sign that you will likely come out of it a winner. If you need a more information about this, you can visit tkinjurylawyers.com.
3. Honesty
When you are explaining the circumstances that led to the accident to your attorney, you must be forthcoming and honest. If you intentionally hold back information or withhold pertinent details, you will likely be found out, and will likely have your case dismissed at a later date. If you were the one who was responsible and is hiding it, own up. Lying can get you in a massive amount of trouble if it is detected, which it likely will be. If you were responsible for the accident, you should just admit it potentially prepare a defense attorney as you may be summoned to court. Honesty is a virtue not many possess.
4. Summons
The summons is the process that kicks off your lawsuit. Your lawyer from The Patel Firm will send a summons to the party responsible, thereby making everything official. After the summons has been sent, you are required to wait for an answer to it from the defendant. Most likely during this stage, the defendant will respond to the summons with a counterclaim and will point by point refute your summons letter. You should not worry if this is the case as if you are being truthful, their counterclaim is unlikely to be successful, and rather, is an attempt to deter you from continuing with your claim.
5. Discoveries
Once the pleadings have been filed with the court (summons, complaint, answer, counterclaim), your attorney will begin obtaining evidence from the defendant’s attorney in a process called discovery. This is so that all parties involved have access to information pertinent to the case.
6. Motions
Before the trial officially begins, the parties involved are allowed to use motions to ask the court to make a ruling or action. Many at this stage will ask the judge to rule on a motion that causes the lawsuit to be terminated or dismissed (a dispositive motion). Common motions include a motion for summary judgment; motion for default judgment; motion to compel; motion for dismissal; motion for change of venue.
7. Trial
Your case will be a civil trial. In a civil trial, the evidence is examined by the judge and jury and decides whether or not the defendant should be held responsible for the damages that have been caused. The trial itself should not last very long and has many different stages, you may or may not be sworn in. The first stage is jury selection, which can take a few weeks at the very least; the second, opening statements, wherein your attorney will read their your claims against the defendant out and vice versa; the third, witness testimonies; the fourth, cross-examination, wherein you will be questioned ardently by the defendant’s legal team; the fifth, closing arguments, and the sixth, verdict.
8. Verdict
The verdict will be decided upon after careful deliberation from the jury. The jury will take into account everything that has been said in the trial and will use all of the evidence to make an informed and rational decision. Providing the defendant is found guilty, the judge will then make a settlement order, likely awarding you a large sum of money.
Now, with the help of this page, should you ever find yourself the victim of a car accident, you now know how to win. Winning a car accident lawsuit is not difficult providing you are honest and hold nothing back. If you are truly not responsible, you will find justice.
