slide 1: TIPS FOR HIRING A PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY
To get started with you need to first understand what a Personal Injury
case is all about. Such cases are usually legal disputes between two or
more parties where one party suffers harm due to an accident or
injury and someone else may be responsible for that harm. In such
cases the aggrieved party seeks fair compensation and damages for
the harm and injury caused. For example one could seek out the
services of an automobile accident attorney when in a car accident.
While most cases are settled through informal discussions and
agreements the few cases that aren’t can be formalized through civil
court proceedings that will help determine whether the other party is
at fault via a court judgment. In such cases you will require the services
of a competent attorney who can help you navigate the waters. But
more importantly they are the ones who will help you determine what
your case is actually worth and help you get fair compensation.
slide 2: In general a formal lawsuit isn’t like criminal cases where action is
initiated by the government. A formal personal injury case is usually
initiated when a private individual known as the ‘plaintiff’ files a civil
complaint against another person business corporation or government
agency known as the ‘defendant’. The case is usually filed with the
plaintiff alleging that the defendant acted in a careless or irresponsible
manner that led to an accident or injury causing the plaintiff harm
and/or damage. The entire process is defined as ‘filing a lawsuit’ and is
typically what most lawyers engage in after understand the merits of
your case. Experienced attorneys for accidents will be able to
accurately tell you whether your case holds water based on the facts of
the case and whether pursuing the case in court will yield any positive
results.
In reality a good personal injury attorney will be able to settle your
case via an informal settlement agreeable to both parties and prevent
the case from getting to court in the first place. However if the
settlement offer doesn’t seem to be fair and the attorney believes that
the court would offer you better compensation then you would be
required to proceed with the filing of your lawsuit. If the informal
discussions prove to be fruitful these negotiations are then followed by
a written agreement which stipulates that both parties forgo any
further legal action in lieu of a monetary settlement agreed to by both
parties. Such procedures that are used to resolve disputes amicably
without resorting to the intervention of a court are referred to as
‘mediation and arbitration’ and form the middle ground between
lawsuits and informal settlements.