If you have been injured in an accident, you may be experiencing trepidation in entering the legal system. The good news is that most personal injury claims settle prior to any lawsuit needing to be filed. Furthermore, bringing a claim after an accident is one of the first steps towards pursuing the compensation to which you are legally entitled should you have been injured due to the negligent action or inaction of another. Also, with the help of the right personal injury attorney, the process can be as seamless as possible.
With most personal injury claims being settled out of court, why do some end up in a full-blown trial? There can be a number of reasons for this that can highly depend on the unique facts and circumstances of a case. If there are potential questions regarding who is at fault in an accident, the claim may go to trial. If the insurance company refuses to acknowledge the extent of the damages sustained by an injury victim, it may go to trial. The road to trial can be long, to say the least, but an actual personal injury trial usually only lasts several days. Here is more about what goes on at a personal injury trial.
What Goes on at a Personal Injury Trial?
At trial, both the plaintiff, the injured party, and the defendant, the at-fault party, and/or his or her insurance company, will be provided with an opportunity to present their respective cases. The plaintiff carries the burden of proving that the defendant was actually at fault for causing an accident and that the accident was the direct and proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. This means that the plaintiff will likely need to present evidence that supports the defendant’s liability for an accident. This could include accident reports, witness testimony, photographic evidence, and security camera footage.
It also means that the plaintiff will need to present evidence supporting the fact that he or she sustained injuries as a direct result of the accident caused by the plaintiff. Medical reports will, of course, be a critical element of doing this. Expert testimony of treating medical professionals may also be necessary. It is also important to note in all of this that the defense team will be given the opportunity to try and undermine all claims asserted by the plaintiff. They may have experts and evidence of their own that they will try to employ to cast doubt on claims asserted by the plaintiff.
At the end of the trial, the judge or jury will be tasked with determining whether the defendant should be held liable for damages sustained by the plaintiff and, if so, what that damage amount should be. Both sides have the right to appeal a verdict they find unfavorable.
Personal Injury Attorneys
The team at SoCal Injury Lawyers does not back down from a fight with an insurance company. We will take them to trial if that is what we need to do for them to pay our clients the monetary compensation to which they are entitled. Contact us today.