Injury cases that are eligible to be a lawsuit must follow several requirements. In some states, the rule of comparative negligence applies. It says that you are still qualified for the compensation money although you are legally deemed as partially liable for the accident. However, the damages you receive will reflect the degrees of your involvement. 

Nevertheless, some states have contributory negligence principle, which means that the court will dismiss your case if you have even the slightest contribution to the accident. 

The third condition that you must be aware of is the failure to mitigate the damage. Your case won’t be legally acknowledged if you postpone getting the necessary medical treatments. 

Therefore, before you proceed, observe the rules above. And now that you are sure about the status of your injury case, these are the next steps to take:

1. Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer

If you’ve never made a lawsuit before, the chances are that you may not be familiar with the available specializations in the law business. A personal injury lawyer, as the name says, is an expert in handling personal injury cases. And they are the one to trust if you want to turn your injury case into a lawsuit. 

However, it is understandable that some areas may not have attorneys of that expertise. Not that many injury lawyers in White Rock but these guys are great. And if you are not that lucky to find one, you should try searching for another in your neighboring cities. Only after that attempt fails, you can opt for a general law firm or an attorney. 

2. Keep the Stories to Yourself and Your Lawyer

When an accident involves a subject that is potential for public attention, journalists will often swarm at you before your attorney can reach you. Imagine a case where you are injured during a company’s construction project. The public certainly wants to know which one is at fault. And in that scenario, you must not fall into the trap. Tell your story only to your attorney. Even if you are going to have a press conference later, you must be under your lawyer’s care. 

Another thing to note is that, in auto accidents, your anger may get fueled up, and you may make an accusation directly at the parties involved there. That act is not wise at all. Things that are acceptable in that imagined situation are only to ask the identity and insurance status of the individuals involved. 

3. Consider Pre-Trial Negotiations

Being in a trial in the court is exhausting and time-consuming. Injury trials can take weeks until the judgment is issued. Therefore, a capable injury lawyer will usually offer a non-trial negotiation first before thinking about proceeding the case to the court. A settlement, mediation, and arbitration are the three methods of resolving the dispute. 

A settlement is when your lawyer proposes a set of offers to be negotiated with the involved party. And if it fails, the negotiation goes to the next level, mediation. Here, both parties hire a third party to help them reach an agreement. You and the parties involved make the final decision here. If it does not succeed, the arbitration will be your last option. However, it functions like a mini-trial, where the arbitrator has the power to decide the settlement. Only if all of these three solutions are unsuccessful, a trial in the court will be a necessity. …