After being seriously injured because of someone else’s negligent acts, you should take specific steps toward your financial recovery. You don’t want to wind up stuck with hefty bills due to someone’s careless actions.
Even though each personal injury lawsuit is different, there are five basic steps that will occur in the process.
Step 1: Consult a Personal Injury Attorney
The first thing to do is speak with a Santa Barbara personal injury lawyer as soon as you can after your accident. They offer a wealth of legal advice and will stand up for your rights if you hire them. The insurance company will likely encourage you to take a settlement, though in most cases, this amount will be far less than what is needed to cover the expenses from your injuries.
An attorney will also be able to ensure you file your lawsuit within California’s statute of limitations for personal injury, which is two years from the date of your accident.
Step 2: Investigation Process
Once you hire an attorney, they will investigate the accident that led to your injuries. They will ask for the police report of your car accident, records of medical treatments, photos or videos you took at the accident scene, and other relevant items. They will speak to any witnesses or relevant experts. They will also help obtain security footage of the accident scene.
Step 3: File a Claim for Compensation
After conducting a thorough investigation to gather all related evidence, they will then contact the at-fault party’s insurer and file a personal injury claim. In any personal injury lawsuit, this part can get complicated depending on how many parties are involved. For example, a car crash that involves only one other driver is pretty cut and dry, but if it were a major accident involving many vehicles or even a commercial truck, things would be very complex.
Step 4: Negotiations
After you have received medical treatments and your future prognosis, your attorney can decide whether or not the settlement offered by the insurance company is sufficient. This process may take several rounds until both sides are satisfied with the outcome. If you are happy with the amount offered, then this would be the end of your personal injury case.
Step 5: Trial
Most personal injury cases will end at the negotiation stage, but some will go to court when an agreement cannot be reached. The trial will involve a discovery phase where your attorney gathers more information, followed by mediation to try for a settlement one more time. If that fails, things proceed to a trial with a judge and jury who will decide your fate.
If the outcome of the trial is not to your satisfaction, you can appeal the decision with your lawyer. Ultimately, when you are hurt because of someone else’s negligence, whether they crashed into your car or you slipped and fell on their property because it wasn’t properly maintained, you have options for getting your compensation through these basic steps.
