According to some research, twenty to fifty million people are injured in car accidents each year.
If you were one of those people who were injured, you might be wondering if you should file a car accident lawsuit. If this is your first one, you likely have a lot of questions about the process.
Thankfully, you can keep reading to find out all you need to know about car accident lawsuits!
Should You File a Lawsuit?
The first thing you should think about is if it’s worth it to file a lawsuit. Just because you got into an accident doesn’t mean that you have to sue someone. This is true especially if neither you nor the other person was injured.
You may also want to avoid suing someone if they don’t have insurance either. Your insurance will likely cover the bill for repairs. However, if your insurance won’t pay for it and the other driver isn’t insured, then your lawyer might advise you to file a claim against your own insurance.
In some cases, it’s better to sue though, especially if there were injuries and a lot of medical bills. When you file a lawsuit, you’ll get compensated to cover your car repairs, your medical bills, any time lost off of work, and any pain and suffering you had because of the accident.
If you do decide that you need to file a car accident lawsuit, you should hire a lawyer, like Sadaka.
What Are the Steps to Take?
Once you’ve hired a lawyer, they will help guide you through the car accident lawsuit process. This process can take a few months to years, and it will all depend on your claim and the other party.
First, your lawyer will file a complaint against the other party that caused the accident. This complaint holds a list of all the claims you’re making. This includes the cost for repairs, cost for medical bills, or cost for the time you missed off of work.
Once you’ve submitted your complaint, the other party will have some time to look over it and give you an answer on what they think.
In some cases, they’ll agree to your terms and decide to do a car accident lawsuit settlement with you to avoid going to trial. But if they think they have a better chance of winning in court, they’ll likely continue with that avenue.
If they decide to file motions, then you may have to deal with pre-trial motions next. This could delay your trial, and they’ll be able to ask for changes, like changing it to a different court in a different city. They can also ask for a new judge to hear the case. They may even ask the judge to throw out the lawsuit because of a technicality.
However, once all of that is ironed out, you’ll be able to set a court date. This could end up being a year or so away.
The next step is for mediation. When this happens, the judge picks a mediator to sit in a room with both lawyers as they try to negotiate on their own before the lawsuit goes to court.
In discovery (the next step) both sides present their evidence and let the judge decide.
How Do You Figure Out How Much Your Claim is Worth?
You’ll also have to figure out how much your claim is worth before you submit it to the other party. This can be a difficult question to answer.
Each car accident case can depend on all kinds of factors. This includes what policy the other driver has. Do they have a policy that only pays the bare minimum, or do they have a better one with more comprehensive coverage?
It’ll also depend on how bad your injuries were and how much your medical bills cost. Were the injuries bad enough to keep you out of work? Did they impact your life in some significant way? Your lawyer will be able to help you answer all of these questions and put a price tag on them.
Lastly, it could also depend on where the accident happened. Some jurisdictions have juries that will allow a higher payout, but others have a lower payout. This is out of your control when it comes down to it, but you should consider this as a factor.
How Are the Lawsuits Settled?
Instead of going to court, the other party may decide to settle. This can be especially important if the other driver is at fault and found liable.
Not every accident is so clear cut, but it can help to establish the other person as the guilty party. If the other person is clearly found guilty, they may decide to settle so that they don’t have to go to trial and possibly pay more money while also dealing with court proceedings.
Learn More About Car Accident Lawsuits
These are only a few things to keep in mind when it comes to car accident lawsuits, but there are many more things you should be aware of before you file one.
We know that dealing with any type of car accident can be stressful, but thankfully, you don’t have to do it all on your own. We’re here to help you out!
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