The Road To Compensation
Posted by Emery Ledger on Saturday, September 29, 2012
Under: Law
It's not just life that passed through phases. Everything that we encounter, every experiences and memories that we have and every learnings we are told, all of it undergo a so called process. You can't skip these channels of life for it will guide you to what you should do for the next step of living. Just like any other processes, it has to have a start and an end. The end is something we look forward because we expect it to the best and can satisfy our life. It is something you viewed as the fruit of of endeavor.
LedgerLaw.com thought of personal injury case as an endeavor. It has to start with an injury or an accident by which a person can choose to either fight for his/her rights or just keep quiet and live with the agony it can bring.
Personal Injury case is a long process, it passed through 3 channels but will have lots of processes. These channel include the plaintiff's lawyer, the defendants' lawyer and the court including jury and justices. To every channel specif actions shall be taken prior to reaching the end point.
The first part of having a personal injury case is having personal injury lawyer. The attorney shall be responsible of the following:
a. Initial Investigation
This is the phase by which the lawyer will gather personal details of plaintiff including SSN, DON, Address, Place of Employment, Relatives information, name of witnesses, insurance suppliers and other relevant details. Also initial investigation will incorporate gathering of evidences such as collecting photos from the scene of incident, interview with the witnesses, obtaining medical records, and some times relevant information from the defendant.
b. Settlement Negotiation
There are some who lawyers who make the draft of proposal for settlement. The draft shall include all medical records and the condition of the plaintiff. It will incorporate the proposed amount for settlement. However, sometimes the defendant's party will send a proposal for settlement, if the plaintiff didn't settled with it, the process will further continue.
c. Filing Of Lawsuit
If the settlement amount was deemed not worthy of the pain and suffering, the plaintiff's lawyer should file a lawsuit to the defendant. Documents of the lawsuit should be served to the defendant within 30-60 days.
2nd Channel: The Defendant's Lawyer in Action
When the lawsuit is filed and already served in the defendant's desk. The defendant's lawyer shall be responsible for the following:
a. Response to the Lawsuit Filed
After getting the lawsuit documents, the defendant's lawyer is given 30-+60 days to respond. Though it is expected that they will ask for 15 days grace period, they are required to make actions on the case filed.
b. Discovery (Exchange of Information)
This is a point by which both parties should exchange information with each other. It can be done in many ways but the standard one is through questions and answers./ Both lawyers will ask other party and will be given 35 days to answer each other's question. The discovery phase will also involved exchanging of evidences in a way where witnesses will be interviewed by lawyers of both parties. The whole discovery phase can take more at least 9 months but not greater than 1 year.
C. Defense's Medical Examination
It will be usual for the defense to ask for medical examination of the plaintiff with their own doctors. However, when the process is undertaken, there must be a lawyer to watch over.
D. Oral Deposition
This is phase by which witnesses will be interviewed and all statements will be transcribed by court interpreter. Anything the witness will say can be used in court.
E. Motion
To try to stop proper litigation, the defendant's lawyer may move to dismiss the case. It is when they believe that the evidences are not substantial and the case is just a waste of time. If the court find it dismissable the case will be dropped but if not it will be pursued in litigation.
3rd Phase: The Court Decides
Prior to trial a mediation will happen. It is an alternative resolution by which both lawyers will be in a meeting with a mediator. He is skilled person and will serve as referee between to parties until they agree for settlement. However, this is not binding.
If still settlement has not agreed with the mediator then trial will be taken. The length of trial will depend on the complexity of the case but it will usually take 4 days to 2 weeks before the jury can make their decision. When deliberation has been done and judgment was made, it will be announced by which both parties are present.
The last phase shall be disbursement of compensation awards. The personal injury lawsuit process is a long way to go. But with someone to lean on you can be successful.
LedgerLaw.com thought of personal injury case as an endeavor. It has to start with an injury or an accident by which a person can choose to either fight for his/her rights or just keep quiet and live with the agony it can bring.
Personal Injury case is a long process, it passed through 3 channels but will have lots of processes. These channel include the plaintiff's lawyer, the defendants' lawyer and the court including jury and justices. To every channel specif actions shall be taken prior to reaching the end point.
1st Channel: Plaintiff's Lawyer
The first part of having a personal injury case is having personal injury lawyer. The attorney shall be responsible of the following:
a. Initial Investigation
This is the phase by which the lawyer will gather personal details of plaintiff including SSN, DON, Address, Place of Employment, Relatives information, name of witnesses, insurance suppliers and other relevant details. Also initial investigation will incorporate gathering of evidences such as collecting photos from the scene of incident, interview with the witnesses, obtaining medical records, and some times relevant information from the defendant.
b. Settlement Negotiation
There are some who lawyers who make the draft of proposal for settlement. The draft shall include all medical records and the condition of the plaintiff. It will incorporate the proposed amount for settlement. However, sometimes the defendant's party will send a proposal for settlement, if the plaintiff didn't settled with it, the process will further continue.
c. Filing Of Lawsuit
If the settlement amount was deemed not worthy of the pain and suffering, the plaintiff's lawyer should file a lawsuit to the defendant. Documents of the lawsuit should be served to the defendant within 30-60 days.
2nd Channel: The Defendant's Lawyer in Action
When the lawsuit is filed and already served in the defendant's desk. The defendant's lawyer shall be responsible for the following:
a. Response to the Lawsuit Filed
After getting the lawsuit documents, the defendant's lawyer is given 30-+60 days to respond. Though it is expected that they will ask for 15 days grace period, they are required to make actions on the case filed.
b. Discovery (Exchange of Information)
This is a point by which both parties should exchange information with each other. It can be done in many ways but the standard one is through questions and answers./ Both lawyers will ask other party and will be given 35 days to answer each other's question. The discovery phase will also involved exchanging of evidences in a way where witnesses will be interviewed by lawyers of both parties. The whole discovery phase can take more at least 9 months but not greater than 1 year.
C. Defense's Medical Examination
It will be usual for the defense to ask for medical examination of the plaintiff with their own doctors. However, when the process is undertaken, there must be a lawyer to watch over.
D. Oral Deposition
This is phase by which witnesses will be interviewed and all statements will be transcribed by court interpreter. Anything the witness will say can be used in court.
E. Motion
To try to stop proper litigation, the defendant's lawyer may move to dismiss the case. It is when they believe that the evidences are not substantial and the case is just a waste of time. If the court find it dismissable the case will be dropped but if not it will be pursued in litigation.
3rd Phase: The Court Decides
Prior to trial a mediation will happen. It is an alternative resolution by which both lawyers will be in a meeting with a mediator. He is skilled person and will serve as referee between to parties until they agree for settlement. However, this is not binding.
If still settlement has not agreed with the mediator then trial will be taken. The length of trial will depend on the complexity of the case but it will usually take 4 days to 2 weeks before the jury can make their decision. When deliberation has been done and judgment was made, it will be announced by which both parties are present.
The last phase shall be disbursement of compensation awards. The personal injury lawsuit process is a long way to go. But with someone to lean on you can be successful.
In : Law