If the insurance company refuses to make you a fair offer to settle your case, you only have two choices: (1) take less than you deserve; or (2) file a lawsuit. While we’ve written a few articles about what happens after you file a car accident lawsuit, now we want to explain the trial itself.
Personal Injury Trials Are Stressful.
A trial is stressful, not only for the lawyers, but for the clients as well. Remember, a case doesn’t go all the way to trial unless there is a genuine dispute over something. In other words, the insurance company is going to tell the jury that the victim is wrong, a liar, or a combination of the two. To sit there while another person tells an open courtroom that you aren’t hurt, your doctors are wrong, or you’re just in it for the money, is embarrassing, hurtful, and more than once it has brought a client to tears.
Jury Selection
Trial always begins with jury selection, which lasts for several hours while your lawyer and the insurance company’s lawyer ask a room of 50 or more potential jurors questions about their lives. Jurors will be asked about car accidents, doctors, attorneys, money damages, and other important topics. The goal is to find those jurors that think all lawsuits are frivolous, or all plaintiffs are greedy liars, and make sure they can’t sneak onto a jury just to advance their own agenda; remember, a trial is about the truth, not about someone’s personal views!
Opening Statements
After jury selection, both sides given an opening statement to tell the jury what the case is about. This is going to be the first time the jury hears from the insurance company’s lawyer that you aren’t entitled to what you believe you are. In other words, your injuries just aren’t all that bad, and you didn’t need the medical treatment you received, and you should be the one to pay the medical bills, not them. You can’t react, show disgust or frustration, or jump up and defend yourself. Instead, you have to sit there and listen to the barrage of insults, and wait for the next step in the trial—calling witnesses.
Next week, we will talk about the second half of a trial, from witnesses to the verdict. If you have been hurt in a car accident, it’s important to have a skilled attorney representing you to take your case to trial when the insurance company says you aren’t hurt. The car accident attorneys at Michles & Booth are here to advise you through the process, and ensure that if you have no choice but to take your case to trial, that you have the representation you need to prove your case. Call us today for a free consultation.
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