If you have been injured in an accident, you may be experiencing some trepidation in approaching the personal injury process. It can be overwhelming to those not familiar with it. As such, it can be beneficial to learn as much as you can about it to make yourself more comfortable with what you or your claim may come up against. Part of this learning process is getting an overview of the steps your claim may take and just how many phases it may go through. There is the settlement negotiation phase, where you or your attorney will try to reach an agreement on the amount of compensation needed to settle the case. Should settlement negotiations fail, your claim may go to trial. If the judge or jury finds that you do not have a valid claim or finds that you have a valid claim but awards you damages in an amount that fails to properly compensate you for the harm you have suffered, you may have the option of pursuing an appeal. Here, we will go into more details about the possibility of appealing your personal injury case.
Is It Possible to Appeal the Decision in a Personal Injury Case?
In order to appeal your personal injury case in California, there must be a reversible error in law that will form the basis of the appeal. It is not enough to simply be unhappy with how your case turned out. You must be able to point to some error or misinterpretation of the law that adversely impacted the outcome of your case. Oftentimes, appellants, the party bringing the case, will cite multiple grounds for filing an appeal.
When you bring your case up for appeal, a higher court will evaluate the grounds you have asserted for your appeal. In other words, the court will examine any alleged mistakes or misconduct that had an adverse impact on how the case turned out. The appellate court will be looking for support regarding any assertion that there was a misinterpretation or misapplication of the law. Alternatively, or additionally, the appellate court will be looking for evidence of procedural errors. Grounds for filing an appeal on the outcome of your personal injury case can also include:
- Jury misconduct
- Irregularity in court proceedings
- Lack of evidence to support the verdict
- The verdict running afoul of the law
Should the appellate court agree to hear your appeal, a panel of judges will review the appellate brief. The appellate brief is to be filed by the appellant and must detail the grounds and the support for the grounds asserted for the appeal. The appellee, the party responding to the appeal, will also have the opportunity to file an appellate brief countering the grounds asserted by the appellant.
There are a few possible outcomes for an appeal. The court of appeals may decide to vacate the personal injury case verdict in whole. The court of appeals may decide to vacate the personal injury case verdict in part, such as amending the damage award. The court of appeals may alternatively decide to remand the case back to lower court for a new trial to be held.
Personal Injury Attorneys
Do you have more questions about the personal injury process? Talk to the knowledgeable personal injury attorneys at SoCal Injury Lawyers. Contact us today.