What to Expect in a Personal Injury Case?
After another person’s negligence in Ohio has injured you, understanding the personal injury lawsuit process is a crucial step in recovering the compensation you deserve. From your initial consultation with a personal injury attorney to receiving your compensation check, there are six major stages of a personal injury case.
Step 1: Consulting with a Personal Injury Attorney
When seeking compensation after a personal injury, the first step is to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney. During your initial consultation, the attorney will review your case and explain its strengths and weaknesses. This is also your opportunity to ask questions and determine whether the lawyer is someone you want to work with going forward.
Step 2: Investigation and Filing the Claim
After you hire an injury attorney, they will investigate the incident and gather evidence supporting your claim. This evidence may include security camera footage, incident scene photographs, eyewitness statements, expert testimony, and more.
Once your lawyer has all the necessary evidence, they will file your lawsuit within the two-year deadline set by Ohio’s personal injury statute of limitations.
Step 3: The Discovery Phase
The discovery phase of a case is where all parties to the case share the evidence they have. Your lawyer can request that the at-fault party produce documents and provide answers to specific questions. This allows your lawyer to go into negotiations, mediation, and trial with a complete picture of the facts of the case.
Step 4: Pre-Trial Negotiations and Mediation
Most cases end in a settlement before they reach the trial stage. These settlements result from pre-trial negotiations and mediation. During negotiations, the parties and their lawyers try to come to an agreement on a fair settlement amount to avoid a costly and time-consuming trial. Mediation is more formal than settlement negotiations, but less formal than a trial. In mediation, a neutral mediator works to facilitate the negotiations.
Step 5: Going to Trial
If negotiations and mediation don’t work, your lawyer will take your case to trial and seek the maximum compensation. At trial, they’ll present the evidence they gathered and make a strong argument for why you deserve compensation.
Step 6: Receiving Compensation
If your attorney successfully negotiates a settlement or wins a trial award, the final step in the litigation process for personal injury is to receive your compensation. This may take a few weeks as the at-fault party’s insurance company prepares the compensation and closes the case.
Tips for Success in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
To win a personal injury lawsuit, you must know what to do and what not to do:
- Do contact a personal injury lawyer
- Do collect evidence from the incident scene
- Do seek ongoing medical treatment
- Do not admit fault for the incident
- Do not provide the insurance company with a recorded statement
- Do not post about the case on social media
Contact Our Ohio Injury Attorneys to Learn More
Were you injured by someone else’s negligent actions or misconduct in Ohio? Contact Amourgis & Associates, Attorneys at Law, for a free consultation with a member of our legal team. One of our lawyers will review your case, explain your options for seeking compensation, and answer your questions about the legal process.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
At Amourgis & Associates, Attorneys at Law, we only represent consumers. We fight for regular people who have been seriously hurt in accidents. We fight for people who are being crushed by overwhelming debt and need a fresh start. We fight for individuals and families. Never businesses. Never insurance companies. We are loyal to the consumer.
