Most personal injury claims will be settled before they go to court. But sometimes insurance companies drag their feet, contest the facts, and refuse to accept a reasonable settlement, and we have to go to court to force them to pay. This article explains what to expect from that court process, including:
- The key stages of personal injury claim trials in California.
- How long personal injury trials usually last, and what the possible outcomes may be.
- How personal injury compensation is determined in trial.
What Are The Key Stages Of A Personal Injury Trial In California?
The first step of a personal injury trial is voir dire, or jury selection. A lot of times, cases can be won or lost during jury selection, as getting a sympathetic jury can go a long way toward mitigating any issues that come up later in the trial.
Opening arguments allow both sides to present their version of the facts and the arguments they will be putting forward.
Next, the plaintiff (that’s you), or rather, your attorney, will present evidence about liability and the extent of damages.
From there, the defense gets to present their arguments about liability (or lack thereof) and any comparative negligence.
Both sides may have hired experts to testify about anything from the incident’s causes to the severity of injuries or the need for any future care.
Finally, the attorneys will make closing arguments to convince the jury to side with them. This is one of the few times the attorney is allowed to speak directly to the jurors, which is very powerful. Being able to speak directly to the jurors and impress upon them the seriousness of the case and the injuries goes a long way toward a successful jury verdict.
How Long Does A Personal Injury Trial Typically Last From Start To Finish In California?
While a claim might take months or even years to get to court, once a trial starts, the timeline is likely to be quite short. Typically, you can expect a personal injury trial to take between five to seven court days from when jury selection starts to when a verdict is read. Obviously, it can take longer depending on the complexity of the case, the number of witnesses, and the number of experts.
Although it might be difficult to take time off from work, you should make sure to be there for every step of the trial. You should be sitting with your attorney every day and arrive on time in the morning. This will help build sympathy with the jury because the jurors are there every day, taking time off their work.
Jurors will take any absence, no matter how good the excuse, to mean either that your injuries are not severe enough or that the case and its outcome do not matter to you, which could turn the jurors against you. Therefore, if you are preparing for a trial, be ready to be there next to your lawyer every day.
What Are The Possible Outcomes Of A Personal Injury Trial?
Once all arguments have been made, evidence presented, and experts cross-examined, the jury will be instructed to answer a series of questions when they go into deliberate.
The first question is usually about liability. Did the defendant cause the incident? Is the defendant liable for the incident?
If they answer yes to those, they move on to the next question, which is usually whether the defendant’s negligence caused the incident that led to your injury and damages.
Attorney Shawn Gozarkhah is a compassionate and relentless personal injury lawyer who has taken a great number of cases to trial to make sure injured Californians in the greater Los Angeles area were able to get the compensation they needed and deserved. He is sharing his knowledge and experience because he knows that the first step toward a win in court is making sure you, the injured party, know your rights and options.
If you are facing an uphill battle against an insurance company after an injury, contact The Law Man Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.
Finally, if that was also a yes, then they start thinking about value. How much should you receive for your past and future medical expenses, as well as your pain, suffering, and inconvenience? They might be asked to consider the possibility of punitive damages.
On the other hand, if the answer to either of those first two questions is no, then that is a defense verdict, and they never get damages. Should that happen, you will not be awarded anything. This is extremely rare, but it is possible when you decide to go to court.
How Is Fair Compensation Determined By The Court?
If your personal injury claim goes to trial, then the amount of compensation you will receive will be determined by 12 strangers. The judge does not determine fair compensation. The lawyers do not determine it, nor does the insurance company.
However, with good lawyering, the jury can be persuaded to view the damages in a more favorable light, and get them to feel sympathetic to your case so that they award damages that are commensurate with the injuries sustained.
What Factors Can Influence Or Limit Personal Injury Compensation In A California Trial?
One of the biggest hindrances to obtaining fair or sufficient compensation for an injury victim is the availability of insurance coverage. Tragically, there are far too many cases of catastrophic injuries caused by someone without sufficient insurance coverage, or any at all, and no substantial assets worth pursuing.
However, at our firm, we rarely let that stop us. We have investigators who will leave no stone unturned to find potential avenues of recovery for you.
For example, there was one case with catastrophic broken bone injuries resulting from a car crash where the driver of the at-fault vehicle was under the influence, uninsured, and had no personal assets to speak of. Many firms would have ended their investigation there and dropped the case, but we kept digging.
We demanded a deposition of the defendant driver and were able to uncover that he was actually driving in the course and scope of his employment. While he was not working at the time and was driving home, he regularly used his personal vehicle to run errands for his employer. As a result, the normal rule that coming and going to work does not count as course and scope didn’t apply.
In California, if you’re driving to work or if you’re driving home from work, you are not considered to be in the course and scope of your employment unless you use your vehicle to further some need of the employer. In this instance, because the driver used his vehicle to run errands during work hours, his employer was exposed to liability even though he was only driving home at the time.
We were able to bring the employer in with their much larger insurance policy, unlocking far more possible compensation, and consequently, we obtained a very good result for our client.
While it was not easy to achieve, it felt amazing to call the family of this catastrophically injured teenager and let them know that their daughter, still a student, would not be set back like they thought she would be by the incident. She would have something to take home that would help her start her professional life on the right foot, cover her medical bills, and provide her with a form of financial stability that she did not have before the incident.
For more information on Commercial Vehicle Wrecks In California, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (818) 699-0492 today.
Attorney Shawn Gozarkhah is a compassionate and relentless personal injury lawyer who has taken a great number of cases to trial to make sure injured Californians in the greater Los Angeles area were able to get the compensation they needed and deserved. He is sharing his knowledge and experience because he knows that the first step toward a win in court is making sure you, the injured party, know your rights and options.
If you are facing an uphill battle against an insurance company after an injury, contact The Law Man Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.
