A lawyer’s day often starts with reviewing and analyzing new cases. They may also meet with clients to discuss their cases and provide legal guidance.
Before scheduling a consultation, ensure you have all the relevant documentation for your case. This could include any police reports, medical records, bills for your injury attorney, or letters from creditors or landlords for employment or bankruptcy law cases.
Preparing for Trial
Table of Contents
Sebastian personal injury law firm will gather and review trial evidence once a lawsuit has been filed. This will include reviewing police reports, interviewing witnesses, depositing, drafting legal documents, and conducting discovery.
Severe injuries can cost thousands or even millions of dollars in medical bills, lost wages from being unable to work, and reduced quality of life.
Choosing an injury lawyer with extensive experience and a proven track record of recovering multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts is essential to ensure your case receives maximum compensation.
Attorneys must also prepare their case for trial by creating a narrative, identifying key issues and points, preparing expert witnesses, securing visual aids, and writing jury instructions.
This can be a time-consuming and intensive process that requires thorough preparation to ensure nothing is left to chance on the day of trial. Part of this involves preparing for the opposition’s case by analyzing their arguments, finding their weak points, and preparing counterarguments.
Trial Day
Unless the client agrees to mediation, the next step is for your attorney to file a lawsuit against the individual or business at fault. Once the lawsuit is filed, your attorney and the insurance company will begin a written discovery process. This will involve written questions, requests for copies of documents in your control or possession, and requests for admissions regarding specific facts concerning the case.
The firm will also meticulously analyze the victim’s treatment records, which contain valuable information regarding the extent of the injuries suffered and the treatments administered. This information is invaluable in obtaining maximum compensation for your claim.
At this point in the litigation, it is common for experts to be hired concerning medical and other issues involving fault. Your attorney will take depositions of any witnesses you plan to call at trial. The trial may last a day, a week, or longer, depending on the nature of the case.
Post-Trial Representation
Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis, which means they will only be paid when they win their client’s compensation. However, some attorneys may have different billing practices. It is essential to understand these before hiring a lawyer.
For example, some attorneys deduct expenses such as expert witness fees, court reporter charges, and medical records fees from the final settlement or verdict amount. Others will ask the client to reimburse them for these expenses if they lose the case.
Choosing the right attorney is one of the most critical decisions an accident victim will make. Injured parties must ask potential lawyers about their trial experience and how often they try cases. Some attorneys can level the playing field with insurance companies by having extensive jury trial experience.
Unfortunately, many injury victims choose their lawyers based on solicitation letters they receive in the mail. These lawyers may need more financial or staffing resources to handle severe personal injury cases.
Final Representation
In some situations, a personal injury attorney may need to take legal action to secure compensation for their client. This is typically done by preparing and filing a civil complaint against the individual or company, the defendant, responsible for the accident that caused their client to sustain injuries.
Some personal injury attorneys, such as those at Hach & Rose, LLP, work on a contingency basis, meaning they will only charge their clients an agreed-upon percentage of any compensation recovered through a settlement or verdict. This is a much more affordable option for clients than hiring an hourly attorney.
Many lawyers use runners, also called “gophers,” to obtain traffic accident reports prepared by local and state police officers.
Once they locate the name and address of an accident victim, they will send a solicitation letter offering to represent them in their case.
Unfortunately, some accident victims choose an attorney based on one of these mass mailings and do not perform enough due diligence.
