What To Expect When Your Case Goes to Litigation
If you read my previous post “Personal Injury Claim, Here’s What to Expect“, then you have seen the outline of having your claim handled by the insurance adjuster. This is also called settling your claim pre-litigation. In this post I want to focus on what to expect during the litigation process. So, in this blog you will need to assume that the insurance company has made a low offer or has denied your claim in its entirety. If that is the case, then you only have two options- you can file a lawsuit against the defendant in general district court or you can file suit in circuit court (or in federal district court).
General District, Federal, or Circuit Court?
In general district court (essentially small claims court), there is a small filing fee and service fee. The monetary jurisdiction of that court is 0-$50,000. By pursuing that option the costs are significantly lower than the circuit court and you can usually get a much quicker trial date. Note that there is no jury to hear your case. Witnesses and arguments will be presented before a judge, usually on a “contested day” at 2pm, and the whole process typically takes about an hour. In most cases the judge will render his/her decision from the bench at the conclusion of the trial. In some cases, the judge may take a few days to look into legal issues further or review medical records, before rendering his/her written decision.
Usually in these general district court cases, there are no expert witnesses. Each side presents evidence in the form of lay witnesses testifying and medical record excerpts (along with the medical bills themselves). By going this route, there are no depositions, or exchanges of written questions or production of documents. In many cases the defense will issue subpoenas to medical records to determine if some incriminating medical records were held back earlier by the plaintiff or to see if the plaintiff has some pre-existing conditions involving the same body parts, that had not been disclosed.
Either party has the right to appeal the decision if they are unhappy. By appealing the decision, the appeal of the case will proceed in circuit court.
How Much Does It Cost To File A Personal Injury Lawsuit in Virginia?
In Circuit court the filing fee is much larger than in general district court. The filing fee is determined by the amount sued for. The more money you sue for, the higher the filing fee. Once the lawsuit is served, the defendant ‘s attorney files an answer to the lawsuit, and then discovery commences. I advance all filing costs for my clients.
What Is Discovery?
Discovery involves each party issuing written questions and requests for documents on the other party (interrogatories and request for production of documents). Once these have been completed the defense attorney will typically issue subpoenas to all of the plaintiff’s identified medical providers and in some cases, they will issue subpoenas to other medical facilities or places (employers, gyms etc.) if they feel the plaintiff has not been truthful or if they have identified other nondisclosed providers through other means.
Who Will Be Deposed In A Personal Injury Case?
Once all the documents have been provided, the parties will set depositions. These depositions are usually of the plaintiff and the defendant, but they may also include medical providers, family members, witnesses, police officers etc.
These depositions can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours or days. The depositions may lead to the identification of other witnesses who are deposed at later dates. I have had one case that had 43 depositions but that is a rarity.
When Your Personal Injury Lawsuit Goes to Trial
At some point, the defense may make a settlement offer, or may propose mediation or arbitration. If those are not successful, then the case will proceed to trial. If one of the parties has requested a jury trial, a jury will hear evidence and will render a verdict. A trial case last anywhere from a day to several weeks. This depends on the number of witnesses and the length of testimony. If either party feels a legal error was made in the trial, then he/she can appeal the verdict to the Virginia Court of Appeals (or the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals if the case was filed in federal district court).
If You Are Wondering If It’s Time to Call A Car Accident Lawyer, It Probably Is
My name is Paul Thomson and I have represented people who have been injured in car accidents, dog bites, in nursing homes, truck accidents and pedestrian accidents for over 29 years. If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you need to speak with me about how you can obtain the maximum amount of compensation. Call my office today for a free consultation. We will talk about what happened, what you can do now to recover, what it may cost to pursue your case, my contingency fee and any other questions you may have.
