If your personal injury or accident case does not settle after discovery and Alternative Dispute Resolution (i.e., mediation has failed), then the case may proceed to trial.
Each side has the option of trying the case before a judge or jury. Depending on the jurisdiction, a jury trial may not happen automatically. One party may have to specifically request that the case be decided by a jury instead of a judge. They call this a “Jury Demand.”
Did you know that in most personal injury cases, the defense attorney will request a jury trial by filing the jury demand? Yep, it’s true. Most defense attorneys know that juries are much more skeptical of awarding money to injured plaintiffs than judges.
In Washington State, the court rules usually require that certain documents must be filed and exchanged within 30 to 90 days before the trial date. These documents may include each side’s witness and exhibits list, pre-trial motions, objections to evidence or trial exhibits, trial memorandums, and jury instructions, among others.
Going to trial in a personal injury case usually requires a tremendous amount of resources, time and preparation. The personal injury attorney usually has to invest a substantial amount of money and time in the case to conduct depositions, hire and prepare experts, create trial exhibits, and draft and prepare the necessary documents that must be filed in court.
The insurance companies and their attorneys know how expensive and time-consuming a personal injury case is to pursue. As a result, they may use this fact to their advantage by intentionally delaying resolution of the case over a long period of time.
Understandably, most people want to avoid going to trial. A trial is stressful and can cause additional anxiety for everyone involved. Usually a trial is the last resort to resolve a claim. Oftentimes, the insurance company will not want a serious or significant personal injury case to go to trial, particularly when there is no serious dispute about the defendant’s negligence and the cause of death.
However, some insurance companies have a reputation for utilizing scorched-earth litigation tactics, which means needlessly forcing and prolonging the litigation process in an effort to wear down the personal injury attorney and the family so that they will accept a smaller settlement.
Sometimes these tactics will include forcing an unnecessary trial, especially if the insurance company is convinced that the personal injury attorney has little experience in trying injury cases in court.
Oftentimes, the personal injury attorney can secure a reasonable and just settlement offer only by threatening and preparing for trial. This is usually why it is extremely important that any personal injury claim be handled by an attorney who has experience with personal injury cases.
You don’t want to hire a lawyer for a personal injury case only to find out a few weeks or months before trial that the lawyer has limited experience handling personal injury cases or has never tried a significant case in court. In those situations, it may be too late to hire another attorney to take over the case.
Pick an attorney who has years of experience handling these types of cases. You’ll want an attorney who specializes in personal injury, and who has been practicing law for at least 12-15 years. With more experience, comes more wisdom. That’s the attorney you want.
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