Steps To Take When Filing Personal Injury Claim

Anyone that has been injured in an accident has the right to file a personal injury claim.

First step in claim process

Before filing the claim, the victim must first learn whether or not the responsible party has purchased a relevant insurance policy. A car insurance policy would not cover any losses caused by fire within a family’s home. A life insurance policy would not cover any damage that might have resulted from an automobile accident.

The next step involves a consultation.

The victim should arrange a time to consult with a personal injury attorney in Barrie. He or she should be able to review the options available to the potential client (the victim). The consulted lawyer would have in his or her mind some idea for the size of compensation that the possible client could hope to receive.

The post consultation actions for the injured victim

That victim/client would work together on filing a 3rd party claim with the insurance company of the person that, allegedly, caused the accident. The client-lawyer team would need to compose a demand letter, and send that to the insurance adjuster at the company that has received the filed claim.

After the adjuster has received the demand letter, then the insurance company should be ready to negotiate with the victim’s legal representative, the chosen attorney. During the negotiations the disputing parties should try to agree on a settlement figure. Sometimes, though, the negotiations do not pave the way for a settlement. If that were to be the case, then the lawyer would need to offer guidance for the next stage of the process.

Unless the deadline that has been stated in the statute of limitations has passed, the client/victim should be able to proceed with filing a personal injury lawsuit. That means filing a complaint and then serving the defendant with the papers from the court. Unless the defendant were to move for dismissal of the proposed lawsuit, the lawyer-cliant team would need to prepare for taking part in a scheduled discovery session.

Sometimes the exchange of evidence that takes place during discovery manages to push one of the opposing parties to give serious consideration to agreeing to a settlement. However, if that chain of events does not take place, then the court must schedule a personal injury trial.

At that scheduled trial the injured victim would be the plaintiff, and the responsible party would be the defendant. A judge would preside over each of the trial’s stages. A jury of 12 men and women would hear the presented arguments. The same jury would deliberate and reach a verdict. The verdict would be either for or against the awarding of money to the plaintiff.