Money & Shopping

How to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit From Your Home

Karen Donovan

Injuries, or rather accidents are one of the most unpredictable events; you could be taking your morning nature walk, and an accident occurs. The outcome of an accident can be fatal, depending on its nature, and more overwhelming with the enormous medical bill.

A personal injury lawsuit claims losses or injuries incurred during an accident. Settlement of a personal injury lawsuit depends on the degree of the accident, at whose fault, and whether the victim was insured.

Here are the different types of personal injury lawsuits:

  • Car accidents
  • Medical malpractices
  • Workplace accidents
  • Dog bites
  • Pedestrian accidents
  • Slip and fall accidents
  • Bicycle accidents

The enormous medical bills after an accident can be overwhelming to bear, worse if the accident occurred due to the other party’s negligence. Pursuing a personal injury claim helps the victim get the compensation they deserve and reduces pressure during recovery.

Here is how to file a lawsuit adequately:

1. Seek Medical Care

Any accident can be traumatic and requires medical care, no matter how minor it seems. After encountering an accident, your first step should be seeking medical care in the nearest care unit, after which you can be transferred to a hospital, depending on your condition.

While most minor accidents barely show any adverse effects, the worse outcomes may rise in the long run and must be prevented early enough by taking this step. Your immediate medical report is crucial evidence to the insurance company and court during the trial.

2. Prepare the Relevant Documents

After undergoing medical care, that means you’re in a better position to proceed with obtaining a personal injury lawsuit. Ensure the doctor has recorded all your injuries, property damages, treatments concerning the accident, and every other essential detail related to a victim’s emotional and mental well-being.

Any personal medical bills, visits while at the hospital, or work days missed due to the accident should also be recorded for later use.

3. Seek the Services of a Qualified Personal Injury Attorney

While anyone can handle personal injury lawsuits single-handedly, consulting an attorney ensures you get the best compensation in the fastest way possible. Suppose the accident under discussion is minor, for instance, an open cut caused by misplaced, broken glass chips at a local restaurant.

In that case, you can call an attorney to guide you through the process without hiring them full-time- it saves you money. Experienced personal injury attorneys know much more than you concerning their field and might help you with tips you barely knew existed.

Most accidents might require you to hire a personal injury lawyer Pickering, who should represent you throughout the filing process until you fully recover your claims and health condition. The attorney will help evaluate the details concerning the accident and choose several legal paths to follow after that.

Evidence is gathered, followed by case investigations and determining reasonable compensation to the victim.

4. Contact the Insurance Company

Personal injury lawsuits are similar to the usual insurance claims, only that the former involves heading to court alongside other parties for compensation. Your attorney can help you send a claim demand letter to your insurance company, strengthened by several other reports related to the accident and the reasonable compensation document.

A tip: Getting an experienced accountant to evaluate the claims and the attorney will help you achieve more desirable results.

5. Claimant-Insurance Company Negotiation

After receiving the claim demand letter, your insurance company will respond with its most-reasonable compensation offer and a call for negotiation on the matter. Several insurance companies have fell victim to fraud by offering immediate compensation without a comprehensive investigation of the accident.

That’s why most people choose this step to get value for their hard-earned investments. With the help of your attorney, evaluate the strength of the offer at hand against your claim demand; study its limitations, and add or emit preferable changes.

The negotiation step can be challenging with numerous unsettled disputes; maybe the offer is too low, and your insurance company doesn’t want to make any developments or thinks your demand claim is too high to manage. At this stage, you might require handling the negotiations in a court of law for more accessible legal results.

6. Negotiations Before the Court

During this stage, the accident victim, their attorney, and the insurance company are offered the opportunity to gather more details concerning the accident. Your insurance company might seek to involve undercover witnesses, images taken during the accidents, and the hospital you initially attended.

On the other side, you and your attorney should aim to strengthen your current evidence with video clips, first-hand witnesses, and garments won on the day of the accident. Before the court fully initiates the hearing, it offers the parties a second chance to re-settle the matter externally, with the help of a mediator.

If the mediation phase fails, the court commences a trial, with each party presenting their evidence before judges, who then issue the final resolution. Any party unsatisfied with the court’s judgment can appeal for a re-trial; most cases are settled during the judges’ initial settlement since most have handled such cases before.