You may file a lawsuit under many circumstances after suffering an injury in a car accident. You can file a case in court if the insurance company denies your claim, or they will not offer the money you feel you deserve for your injuries. Your car accident attorney may also advise you to file a lawsuit without submitting an initial insurance claim if they anticipate a difficult time with the insurance company involved in your case.
Before you take your case to court, you should understand what may happen as the legal process unfolds. Always ensure you hire a Nashua car accident lawyer with litigation experience in case you require a lawsuit.
The Insurance Company is Involved in the Lawsuit
When a driver purchases a car insurance policy, the insurance company is obligated to pay for any damages the driver causes up to the amount of the policy limit. The insurance company must also defend its policyholder in court if you file a car accident injury lawsuit.
Thus, the insurance company of the negligent driver will still be heavily involved in litigation, since it is the party that will pay for the damages. The insurance company also provides the defense attorney, even though the driver is the named defendant in the lawsuit. The insurer and its attorney will decide when to offer a fair settlement or when to push you to go to trial.
Insurance companies should try to settle and defend lawsuits in good faith. They can face a potential bad faith lawsuit if they should have settled the case, and now the driver personally owes money after a loss in court.
How the Car Accident Lawsuit Process Will Unfold
There are a number of steps in a car accident lawsuit that will unfold over a matter of months or even more than a year. The judge will set the schedule for the case after you file the lawsuit. The steps in a car accident lawsuit are as follows:
- Your lawsuit will begin when your car accident attorney drafts the legal complaint and serves it on the defendant and their insurance company. The complaint will give an overview of the facts of your case and the grounds for your legal relief. The lawsuit must allege that the driver was negligent in your accident or there is a legal basis for another party’s liability, like vicarious liability. The defendant has the obligation to file a response to your complaint which gives their side of the story in response to the facts you allege. The defendant may use one of a number of affirmative defenses to your allegations.
- The defendant may try to file a motion to have your case dismissed, and your car accident lawyer must file a response before the judge will rule on the motion.
- The bulk of the lawsuit process is discovery. Of importance in a car accident case is the fact that your attorney can speak with the other driver under oath and ask them questions about what happened during the crash, in part to lock down their testimony in advance of trial. The insurance company’s lawyers can do the same to you and your other witnesses. A strong performance in your deposition can put you on more solid legal ground and only help your case.
- You may still continue to discuss a settlement agreement with the insurance company at many points during the trial. There is no guarantee that they will want to continue to fight you until the very end.
- A car accident trial happens at the conclusion of your case. Each side will be allocated a certain amount of time by the judge to present their case to a jury. Once the jury has heard all the evidence, they will be provided with instructions, and they will deliberate about both liability and how much money you may deserve if they find that the other driver was legally responsible for your injuries. They will then issue their verdict and the damages award if they have ruled in your favor. Both you and the defendant have the right to appeal to a higher court if you believe that there was an error made during the trial.
Trials Are Very Rare in a Car Accident Lawsuit
The one thing that is not likely to happen in a car accident lawsuit is that your case actually goes to trial. Filing a lawsuit does not guarantee that a case will actually go in front of a jury, although it is certainly your right to go the distance in a lawsuit if that is in your best interests. In the overwhelming majority of cases, your lawsuit will settle before your case sees the inside of a courtroom.
The insurance company may try to settle your case when they realize that they will be unable to get your lawsuit dismissed. More often, they will get more motivated to reach a settlement agreement at the conclusion of the discovery process when the prospect of a jury trial becomes more imminent. If the insurance company sees that you have a strong likelihood of success in front of the jury, they may not want to engage in the final fight. Only roughly five percent of car accident lawsuits will conclude with a jury trial.
Why You Need a Car Accident Attorney for Your Case
Even if you do not intend to file a lawsuit, you still need a car accident lawyer representing you during the legal process. It is the prospect of a lawsuit that may keep the insurance company in line, no matter how you choose to seek compensation. If you are filing a claim, the insurance company may want to settle your case before the point where you file a lawsuit in court, because they need to pay the costs of defending the case in court.
The insurance company will not have any fear of a lawsuit unless they see that you are represented by a trusted car accident lawyer. They know that a car accident attorney can take the case to court at a moment’s notice if the insurance company is being uncooperative in the claims process.
Hire a Car Accident Trial Attorney
If you’ve suffered an injury in a car accident and are considering filing a lawsuit, finding the right attorney to represent you is important. A car accident trial attorney can provide the skill necessary to handle the challenges of your case and pursue a favorable outcome. Contact a personal injury attorney to protect your rights and bring justice to your case.