What Are the Steps to Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

When you’ve been injured in an accident, you will suffer more than just a terrifying experience—you will likely face some mental trauma, experience serious physical injuries, and endure the financial burden associated with medical bills and lost income.

If you didn’t cause your accident, you shouldn’t have to deal with these damages. If your accident was caused by another person’s negligence, you probably know that filing a lawsuit against that party is a way to recover some of your losses.

Nothing can make your accident and your suffering completely vanish, but seeking damages can be a good start in moving past the experience. To get the compensation you deserve, you will need to know the steps to filing a personal injury lawsuit.

Investigate Your Accident

One of the most important elements to determine in any accident is who caused it and whether negligence was involved. Whether your accident was a vehicle collision, a premises liability accident, or a defective product accident, if negligence was involved, you deserve compensation.

But how can you investigate the cause of your accident if you’re in a hospital recovering from your injuries? It’s tough on your own. But a personal injury attorney can help you investigate the cause of your accident and file a personal injury claim.

Document Your Injuries

Another important step in filing a personal injury claim is proving that your injuries were the result of your accident and not some other cause.

For example, if you’re suffering from a back injury after your accident, you will want to immediately document your injury so the insurance companies or negligent parties can’t claim you received the injury elsewhere. Your doctor can help you with this step.

Do the Paperwork

Once you have gathered evidence proving the fault of the other party and documented your injuries, you will need to file the actual claim paperwork and send demand letters. At this point, the insurance company or negligent party will enter negotiations to try to come to a fair settlement agreement.

Negotiations can be tricky. If you demand too much money, the other side may not even respond to you, preferring to take the argument to court. If you demand too little, you won’t get the full compensation you need to cover your injuries.

File Your Personal Injury Lawsuit

If you and the other side can’t come to an agreement, you will likely need to take your personal injury lawsuit to court, where both sides will make arguments and present evidence in front of a judge or jury.

Speak with a Personal Injury Attorney

Now you know the steps to filing a personal injury lawsuit. If you need help filing your claim, call a personal injury lawyer with The Kindley Firm, APC, today. We can help with all of the above steps and fight for the best outcome for your case. Initial consultations are free when you call 619-550-1313 or complete the form below.