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Hi this is Jason and today I'm going to answer, what is the process of a personal injury case?
Well a personal injury case has many steps but the first step is when someone is injured.
While someone is injured, they're in what is called the treatment phase of a case. That
means you're getting treatment for your injuries, you're going to the doctor, you're getting
physical therapy, MRIs, injections, chiropractic, massage, whatever the case may be. You're
getting treatment for your injuries, and that's the treatment phase of the accident.
Once you're done with your treatment phase, the next step is a lawyer can order all of
the medical records related to your case and prepare what's called a demand package, which
is sent out to an insurance company. Now at that point, one of two things happens: Either
the insurance company makes a reasonable offer, and we're able to resolve your case through
settlement; or, if the insurance company doesn't make a reasonable offer, we have to file a
lawsuit. And then your case moves into what's called the litigation phase.
During the litigation phase, there are several steps, one of which is discovery, which is
where both sides in the lawsuit exchange information. Discovery can come in many forms, like interrogatories,
which are written questions under oath; depositions, which is a semi-formal process where the opposing
lawyer gets to ask you questions that are answered under oath in front of a court reporter.
Sometimes there are what are called Defense Medical Exams, where the plaintiff — the
person who is injured — is forced to be examined by a doctor of the defense lawyer's
choosing, and those are all parts of the discovery process.
Once the discovery process concludes, the case is ready for trial. A trial is just what
it sounds like and what you've seen on TV — a judge, a jury, the whole deal. Most
cases settle short of going all the way to trial. However, some cases, even personal
injury cases and simple car accident cases, do go all the way through trial because the
two sides simply can't reach a settlement agreement. And if the two sides can't reach
a settlement agreement, ultimately, the one who gets to decide what a personal injury
case is worth is a jury of twelve people on that day.
If you have any more questions about personal injury cases or think that you may have a
personal injury case, visit our website. It's www.premierlawgroup.com.