subject: How A Car Accident Case Being Handled? [print this page] If you were injured in a California car accident that was not your fault, then you are probably entitled to be compensated for your injuries. The value of your car accident case will depend on many variables including the amount of property damage to your car, your medical bills-both present and future, your lost time from work, pain and suffering and other economic and non-economic damages. Your car accident attorney can give you a more accurate estimate of the value of your case. The majority of the time, your car accident case can be settled without the need to go to trial. Your car accident attorney will advocate on your behalf with the negligent parties insurance company in an effort to reach an agreeable settlement amount. Sometimes, however, a settlement is not reached. The most common reasons that a car accident case cannot be settled outside of court are because the other party is not accepting that they were negligent or at fault or because the other party does not agree with the value of your damages. In those cases, your case will have to proceed to trial. If yourauto accident case proceeds to trial, you should understand what to expect.
When your accident attorney makes a demand of the negligent party for the settlement amount that the two of you have agreed upon, the insurance company can accept the demand, reject the demand or counter the demand. This negotiating process will go back and forth until you have either reached a settlement agreement or you and your car accident attorney have decided that a settlement cannot be reached. At that point, your car accident attorney will begin to prepare for trial. Much of the work your car accident attorney has done up to this point has been trial preparation as well. Your car accident attorney will prepare exhibits, decide what evidence to introduce, line up experts to testify and prepare you and your witnesses to testify if necessary.
When your case is tried before a jury, it is important to remember that the jury will decide whether you are entitled to compensation and how much compensation you will receive. For this reason, it is very important to pick a sympathetic jury. Your car accident attorney may spend a considerable amount of time on jury selection. Once the jury has been determined, the case will begin. As the plaintiff, your car accident attorney will present your case to the jury and explain why you feel that the other party was negligent (at fault) in the accident. The other party will also be able to cross-examine your witnesses. The other party will then present their case and attempt to persuade the jury that they were not negligent. Your car accident attorney will also have the opportunity to cross-examine their witnesses. After all witnesses have testified and all the evidence presented, the jury will deliberate. If the jury comes back in your favor and finds the other party negligent then they will also announce what they feel is a just compensation amount for your damages.
A jury trial can be risky. You could end up with nothing or you could end up with considerably more compensation than you originally asked for from the other party. It is best to consult at length with your car accident attorney before deciding to proceed to trial with your car accident case.
