The legal system provides the victim of an accident with a way to seek fair compensation from the responsible party. That system allows the injured victim to file a complaint against the negligent defendant. That defendant’s display of careless and neglectful behavior has, allegedly, caused the plaintiff’s injury.
While the law has made the system available to all accident victims, not all of them use it. Some have not taken the time to become familiar with the personal injury process. Those without such a familiarity ought to take the time to read the following paragraphs.
Step one: Consulting with various lawyers.
After this task has been completed, the person that has scheduled the various consultations should hire one of the consulted lawyers. If none of them seem satisfactory, more time must be spent on doing research, in hopes of finding the ideal attorney.
Step two: Seeing a doctor
The victim of an accident needs to get an assessment of his or her injuries. Normally, that assessment comes with a recommended treatment. The victim should follow the doctor’s recommendations.
Step three: Present statement of claim
This is usually done by the client’s lawyer. That personal injury lawyer in Medicine Hat speaks with representatives from the opposing party’s insurance company. The discussion aids development of a settlement proposal.
Steps taken if no settlement has been reached
A discovery session takes place. Both parties meet in lawyer’s presence and share their stories. A court reporter is also present. If no settlement reached, the 2 parties move on to the mediation stage.
During mediation, lawyers representing the two sides (2 parties) meet and each other and also meet with mediator. Mediator seeks to get the two sides to agree to follow the mediator’s suggested solution. Mediator focuses on those areas where there is some agreement, rather on those that gave rise to the dispute.
If mediation proves successful, no further claims get pursued by either side. If it does not prove successful, the claim gets taken to court. There a judge or jury arrives at a decision and announces a verdict.
If either party wants to contest the verdict, the attorney for that same party can file an appeal. If the appeal gets denied, the client’s lawyer may have to undertake more drastic action, such as suing the insurance company.
Sometimes, a lawyer elects to go after an alternate responsible party. For instance, if someone got harmed by a defective product, the manufacturer might seem to be responsible, but the retailer might have to share at least some of the blame, as well. Consequently, after a failed appeal, it becomes the lawyer’s job to use the court system for seeking compensation from the retailer or marketer.