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What a Car Accident Lawyer does:
Have you or a loved one been hurt either in an accident or by way of the negligence of someone? Sure, sometimes problems can be solved by personal insurance or through a small claims court. Occasionally it’s a good idea to walk it off and get on with your life.
But maybe you could use someone to have your back. Someone that will gun for your cause. A professional who can fight for your side. That’s when you really should have a St. Johns personal injury attorney that will fight for your rights, both financial and personally, so you can roll back as close as possible to your life prior to when the incident occurred.
Being harmed by a crime, accident, or willful negligence is not a good time. It’s an emotional roller coaster, and being objective is difficult. However, keeping calm and collected can be the difference between getting the fair compensation or quitting the case empty handed.
A St. Johns personal injury professional can act as a counselor between you and the difficult situation, making it much easier to navigate the ins and outs of our challenging legal system. Many people may not even comprehend the potential consequences of what could happen until sitting down with a legal professional. That person can help you realize all of this in a more objective light, determine if a claim exists and if they can be of service, and help you move forward with any potential case.
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What is a St. Johns Car Accident Attorney?
To begin with, personal injury lawyers (PILs) fall into the broader arena of civil lawyers. Civil lawyers are usually retained to recover money or other assets from a person or legal entity for another person or legal entity.
This means that when someone brings a civil action suit against another person, a civil lawyer is usually hired to bring the lawsuit and a different civil lawyer is hired by the defendant. In the case of bodily injury, the injured party can hire a personal injury attorney when said dispute involves reimbursement or payment of expenses caused by the injury such as health reimbursements, mental health problems caused by the injury, and more.
After the attorney has been retained, they will gather all of the information in the case that they are legally able to get. They will speak with all witnesses that can be found, gather any and all documents in relation to the case, and use all possible resources to verify all of their is accurate.
Then he or she will first attempt to work out the settlement of the case. If that negotiation fails, the legal professional will consider filing a lawsuit in response, depending on the potential for a win. But what cases does a personal injury attorney take on?
The PIL usually tackles a large variety of cases that can be separated into two main categories. The first field includes negligence and accident cases such as medical malpractice, legal malpractice, automobile accidents, child negligence, and wrongful death cases. Wrongful death is usually caused by a doctor, nurse, or other medical practitioner. In most of these cases, someone is injured (or worse) due to the negligence or incompetence of another person.
The other primary field of a PIL is the purposefully perpetrated tort case. An intentional tort happens when someone purposefully hurts another person. This type of act occurs in a violent crime, assault and battery cases, slander, theft, and other such situations. Considering everything mentioned here, the list of reasons for a personal injury case is pretty much endless.
In addition, and in contrast to most other areas of law, personal injury lawyers nearly always work on a contingency fee basis. This means that they are not paid unless the person or entity that they are representing overcomes the case. It means that there should be no upfront payment, for consultation or any other service. Their fee is based solely upon a percentage of the financial compensation received by their client.
What Are the Implications in a Personal Injury Case?
Of course, sometimes even these final steps of the process aren’t so simple. The injured party could counteroffer if they feel they are not receiving in their eyes a fair compensation. It is when these offers wind up floating back and forth in limbo or an offer is unacceptable that a case could potentially end up going to court.
But it is unusual for a personal injury case to get to the trial phase. And this is for several reasons:
First, a settlement creates a situation where the defendant can control risks and avoid unneeded legal fees. If the defending party is 100% aware that they are at fault for the incident that led to the claim, they probably do not want the case to get in front of a sympathetic jury that could lend much larger damages.
Secondly, a settling the case will keep it low profile. This is especially important for publicly known people or large high profile companies. A large trial brings public attention. And even a small trial can bring unwanted attention. A settlement allows anyone involved to negotiate terms, including those terms regarding confidentiality.
Thirdly, a settlement can hasten the process. Protracted trials can take an eternity, lasting for many months or longer. Adding to that, if anyone appeals, the outcome can remain unsettled for even longer. The plaintiff may want financial payment in the near term rather than down the road. Or they may simply not want to complete the never-ending process of putting on a case, presenting evidence, and doing whatever it takes to win a legal battle.
And finally, settlement allows the injured party a guaranteed win. A trial is more of a ‘the higher the risk the more the reward’ type of situation, which is not always the best situation for either. The plaintiff may in many cases rather settle for a little less in a guaranteed win. This, versus demanding the maximum dollar amount but also risking either losing the claim completely or having a judge or jury award a much lesser amount.
What are the Personal Injury Lawyer’s Duties?
First they will take care of locating evidence and finding the responsible party, whether it be an insurance company, individual, or other legal entity.
Once the legal professional has built a case, they draft and send an official letter of demand to the opposing party. This letter includes a complete detail of what occurred, of injuries incurred, and the amount of financial compensation demanded.
Next, the lawyer may try to negotiate a settlement, and depending on whether a settlement is reached, chooses whether or not to push to bring the case to court. This is determined by how much the defendant agrees to the settlement terms. If the other party agrees to all terms, then there would be absolutely no reason to go to trial. If the other party agrees to some terms but not all of them or partially agrees, the ball is then put back in the plaintiff’s court to decide if they will push for further negotiations, agree to the new terms, or go to court.
Choose the Successful Car Accident Lawyer in St. Johns
Here at DeLozier Law, we have many decades of experience in successful personal injury law litigation. Our clients are extremely pleased with us because we helped them get the settlement they needed and deserved. We offer a free consultation so you can see if we can help you with your claim, too. Give us a call today at 602-989-1759!