Home » Seattle Personal Injury Resources » Timeline of a Personal Injury Case According to a Personal Injury Lawyer

Every personal injury case is different. However, many personal injury cases share factors that lead to a similar timeline. Understanding the timeline of a personal injury case can help you be prepared for what to expect.

A personal injury attorney can help guide you every step of the way as you navigate your personal injury case.

Gather Evidence at the Scene of the Accident

The actions you take at the scene of the accident depend on what kind of accident occurred and how seriously you were hurt. In a car accident, you need to remove the vehicle from the road, call 911, and exchange identification and insurance details with the other driver. Use your cell phone to take photos of anything useful or enlightening. File an accident report as soon as possible.

Go to the Hospital

Go to the hospital ASAP, even if you don’t think you’re hurt. If your body suffers an impact, assume that you’re hurt even if you feel no pain. Remember, adrenaline is a potent anesthetic. Moreover, certain kinds of injuries, such as soft tissue injuries and traumatic brain injury, sometimes don’t produce symptoms immediately. Going to the hospital can establish evidence of your injuries.

Consult With a Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer

Many personal injury lawyers offer a free initial consultation. At the consultation, the lawyer will ask you questions about your claim and answer any questions you may have. You can use this time to decide whether or not to hire an attorney.

Perform a Preliminary Investigation and Gather More Evidence

Your lawyer should take the lead here, but they might ask you to produce some documents.

Relevant evidence might include:

• A police or accident report
• Your medical records
• Your medical bills
•  Interviews with witnesses
• Cell phone records
• A “pain journal” or diary that you add to daily
• CCTV videos
• Photographs of the scene of the accident

Many other kinds of evidence might be relevant. At this point, the main purpose of this evidence is to gain an advantage in settlement negotiations.

Send a Demand Letter

If your case is like most, an insurance company, not the defendant, will pay your claim. Your lawyer can draft a formal demand letter to send to the insurance company. Have your lawyer send it in their own name, sign it, and keep a copy. Set a deadline for a response. The purpose is to formalize your claim and kick off settlement negotiations. Include supporting documents, such as copies of your medical bills.

Negotiate

The insurance company should respond to your demand letter. They might have rejected your claim or responded with a ‘lowball’ offer worth only a fraction of the value of your claim. If they ignore your letter or reject your claim, you might have to proceed directly to filing a lawsuit. You can counter-offer with a higher offer if they respond too low. This process of offer and counteroffer might continue indefinitely, or it might end with a settlement.

File a Lawsuit

If the defendant undervalues your claim, you might have to file a lawsuit.

There are three main reasons why injury victims file lawsuits even while they hope to settle:

• To incentivize the opposing party to settle
• To beat the statute of limitations deadline
• To gain access to the pretrial discovery evidence-gathering process

Hiring a personal injury lawyer with extensive trial experience is crucial.

Participate in Pretrial Discovery

The purpose of pretrial discovery is for each side to gain access to relevant evidence that is in the possession of the other party (and sometimes third parties, such as banks).

Pretrial discovery allows for the following:

• Depositions: Out-of-court, sworn testimony from other other side’s witnesses
• Interrogatories: Written questions that the other side must answer under oath
• Production of Documents: Demands for the production of evidence–copies of documents, for example, or the inspection of physical evidence (perhaps including a medical examination of your injuries)

Either side can ask the court to sanction the other side if they fail to cooperate.

Return to the Settlement Table

Most claimants would rather negotiate a settlement than go to trial. Most defendants share this preference, even if it is the only issue of agreement with you. The problem is that at the settlement table, there is no judge or jury to tell you when you have met your burden of proof. Instead, you have to base your offers and counteroffers on what you imagine a court might do.

Hopefully, the discovery procedure generated enough evidence to clarify matters and allow you to reach a settlement. If not, it might be time to resort to alternative dispute resolution methods.

Mediate

Mediation is the most popular form of alternative dispute resolution. A mediator is someone who has no stake in the outcome and is trained in the art of facilitating compromise. A mediator can help you reach a mutually satisfying agreement. They cannot impose a solution on you–they can only suggest a solution and try to persuade you to accept it.

Draft and Sign a Settlement Agreement

If you reach a settlement, your lawyers will probably still probably still end up bickering over the precise wording of the settlement agreement. You agree to abandon your claim and in exchange, the defendant agrees to pay you the settlement funds. After both sides sign the settlement agreement, it will become an enforceable contract.

Go to Trial

The following is a general schedule for a trial:

1. Jury selection (voir dire)
2. Opening statements
3. Presentation of evidence by the plaintiff
4. Cross-examination
5. Presentation of evidence by the defendant
6. Closing arguments
7. Jury instructions
8. Jury deliberation
9. Verdict
10. Judgment
11. Appeal

A skilled personal injury attorney is prepared to represent you in court when necessary to pursue full compensation.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer

If you are concerned about the quality of your claim and the timeline of your case, contact Davis Law Group Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers, for a free consultation. Our Seattle personal injury lawyers can guide you through your personal injury case at no upfront cost to you.