If you’ve recently been hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you may have lots of questions about your right under Pennsylvania civil law to demand payment for your injuries from the person or people who caused them. Even if you have a broad understanding of what Pennsylvania law says about cases like this, it’s hard to get a good experience of how personal injury lawsuits actually work without going through several of them.
Getting help from an experienced personal injury lawyer is vital to effectively suing over a personal injury and getting paid fairly for the losses you can track directly back to that injury. Our attorneys can give you an overview of what you should expect from the legal process and what you may need to be prepared to do during it.
How to Build a Personal Injury Case
Holding someone else civilly liable for an injury requires proving they directly caused that injury through a specific negligent act—for example, a violation of traffic law which led to a wreck or a failure to keep land they owned in reasonably safe condition for lawful visitors. Regardless of what specific circumstances led to your injury, you’ll need evidence to support your claim, to establish that a negligent act occurred, and to prove that you suffered specific injuries and losses as a direct result of that act.
This can mean proactively hunting down and preserving things like:
All medical documentation related to injury treatment, including bills and invoices for services rendered
Statements from witnesses
Photos, videos, and other visual records of the accident and scene
Reports and testimony from police officers who responded to the accident scene
Pay stubs, receipts, and other documentation of lost income and accident-related expenses
Personal notes and testimony from friends and family members to illustrate pain and suffering stemming from an injury
Basic Steps in the Litigation Process
Once you’ve gotten as much evidence as you can to support your case, the next step is formally filing a complaint with the court, which is something a practiced legal professional can provide essential help with. Once the defendant you’re suing is notified of your complaint, there’ll usually be several rounds of private negotiations between you, the defendant, and everyone’s respective legal representatives.
Personal injury cases only proceed to a trial in front of a civil judge or jury if these negotiations don’t result in a fair settlement offer. The outcome of the case—and the amount of money you get for your damages—will depend entirely on how the court interprets the evidence each side presents. The vast majority of personal injury claims end with out-of-court settlements. Settling a case doesn’t have to mean leaving money on the table.
A Personal Injury Attorney Can Answer Questions About How Your Lawsuit Might Work
Of course, the most important thing to know about how personal injury lawsuits work is that they usually don’t work for injured people who try filing them without help from seasoned legal counsel. Pennsylvania civil law isn’t friendly to plaintiffs, even under the best of circumstances, and you’ll want guidance from an experienced personal injury lawyer through the entirety of the process. Call us today to learn how we can help with your unique situation. You won’t owe us anything until we win the compensation you deserve.
