The very first part of starting down the path of a personal injury claim is deciding which attorney to choose. There are many ways to choose your law firm and finding one that is the best fit for you requires asking the law firm the right questions.
During your initial consultation with your prospective injury attorney, you will be interviewed about the specific circumstances that led to your injury matter. For example, they may request access to medical records which will require you to sign a formal authorization, sometimes referred to as “HIPPA releases”. Your law firm will “work your case” in anticipation of trial. While many cases reach a settlement well before they reach the trial stage, is important that the case is properly prepared for trial in the event that a settlement cannot be reached.
Timing is essential to personal injury legal claims. The time that someone has to legally recover for injuries is not that long. This limitation is usually articulated in your state’s legislative code or statutory law. This time period varies greatly depending on which state’s law applies to your case and the nature of the circumstances giving rise to your case. This issue should be addressed with your personal injury lawyer from the very beginning so you are both on the same page about the critical deadlines surrounding your case.
The first step to actually getting your personal injury lawsuit going, is usually the filing the filing of the complaint. The complaint is the legal document that notifies the court and the other parties that you are claiming damages do to the fault of someone else. Generally, filing of the complaint requires that a fee be paid to the court. The complaint must also be served to the other parties to the case. This means that the other parties must be properly notified that you have filed a lawsuit against them. Proper service is outlined in your court’s local rules and will be handled by your legal professional.
After service has been properly effectuated, the defendants will probably provide some kind of answer. In some jurisdictions, this may either include a formal answer or a motion to dismiss your case. The next step is for the parties to begin the discovery phase. During discovery, requests are made by the parties for documents and information relevant to the issues giving rise to the case. Typically, these requests include a series of questions, requests for documents, and depositions of witnesses. It is not unlikely for this process to take a long time, even months or even years.
During and following discovery, the parties may begin discussing resolving the case through a settlement agreement. A settlement agreement usually involves the defendant paying the plaintiff a certain sum of money in exchange for the plaintiff’s dropping of the lawsuit. Generally, most personal injury cases are resolved through some form of settlement. However, if the parties cannot reach a settlement, the case continues to the trial phase. At trial both parties present their cases and the matter is resolved by a judge or a jury.
If you have been seriously injured by the negligence of health care providers: doctors, nurses, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, pharmacists or others in Washington DC you need to talk to an experienced DC injury attorney today. A DC injury attorney who handles serious injury cases can tell you your options.
