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Legal Issues About Mr.
Silver |
Personal Injury Time Is of the Essence The specific time limitation will depend on the type of injury and the circumstances. As a general rule, a personal injury lawsuit must be filed within one year of the date the injury occurred. However, under some circumstances, you must take action in less than a year. For example, if you believe a governmental entity is responsible for causing your injury, you must file a claim within six months of the injury. Similarly, there are other and shortened time limitations if you need to sue a doctor for medical malpractice. To further compound the problem, if you wait until near the end of the period to file a claim or lawsuit, your attorney may not have enough time left before the deadline to help you. The point is, if you have suffered a personal injury, it is essential that you immediately consult with an attorney. Other Considerations To begin with, attorneys do not work for free (no secret there). Typically, attorneys will take 33 to 40 percent of the proceeds (after costs are deducted) in a contingency fee case. What's more, there are significant costs in obtaining a favorable settlement or judgment. Depositions have to be taken, evidence uncovered, expert witnesses have to be paid, exhibits prepared, and the like. Your attorney may ask you to pay for these costs, and they can run into the thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars. If you are successful, you may not recover any or all of these costs from the other side. Its usually left to the Court's discretion. What's more, under our legal system, you will not recover your attorneys fees from the other side, even if you win (as usual, there are a few narrow exceptions to this rule). Another consideration in deciding whether to proceed with a claim is how much is your injury worth? If your case is not worth a great deal, it probably does not make sense to proceed with it. Your attorney can compare your case to others in which the plaintiff suffered similar injuries, and based on this, he may be able to establish an estimate of the value. If it appears your case may be worth prosecuting, then the next issue is determining which court it should be filed in. The Superior Court hears cases which are worth $50,000 or more; Municipal Courts hear cases valued at between $5,000 and $50,000; Small Claims Courts hear cases worth up to $5,000 (also, neither party to a small claims action may be represented by an attorney). How Will My Lawsuit Proceed? The defendant can respond by either filing an "Answer" or a motion to challenge the Complaint. Once the Answer is filed, the case moves into the "discovery" phase. This is the part of litigation in which both sides collect the evidence they will need to present their cases to the jury. Discovery consists of (1) depositions, which are oral question and answer sessions, under oath, in which one attorney questions the opposing party or witness (if the person being deposed is a party, that person will be represented by his/her attorney); (2) interrogatories, which are simply written questions which must be answered under oath; (3) requests to produce, which are requests for the other side to deliver documents or other evidence to the opposing side; (4) requests for admission, which are formalized requests which ask the other party to state whether certain facts are in dispute; and (5) medical exams, in which the injured plaintiff will be examined by the defendant's doctor. Discovery can take up to six months, or more, to complete. Once it is done, the case moves into the trial preparation stage. During this phase, your attorney will ready all the evidence for presentation to the jury. In addition, expert witnesses will be selected and questioned in deposition. Experts are used to explain complex or technical issues to the jury. Then, in the last week or two before trial, the attorneys exchange evidence and let the Court know they are ready to proceed. Lastly, the parties and their attorneys report to court on the appointed day, a jury is selected and trial begins. |