The Legal Process Followed For Personal Injury Insurance Claim Cases
With time, the insurance companies have been seen to take a very aggressive approach to settle the personal injury claims.
There are many such companies that offer relatively lesser insurance claim amount even if the personal injury suffered is very grave.
There are many such cases when the insurance company will negotiate with you to find out about you, your lawyer as well as your doctor.
When the lawsuit is filed, the deadlines and trial dates will be set.
This will induce the insurance company to try and settle the case.
A lawsuit can be begun only when the respective papers are filed in the court and the fee paid.
You will personally have to hand in a copy of the papers with the complaint against the insurance company.
Do not wait to hire your personal injury attorney till the last moment.
There are many personal injury attorneys who will refuse to take up any case where they feel the time is insufficient to successfully investigate about the case, locate the defendant as well as file the suit.
You are given a fixed time limit to settle the matter and serve the defendant company personally.
Once the defendant is served, the two parties will take part in a process in which they seek information from each other regarding the case.
This process is known as discovery.
Both the parties will be allowed to personally investigate the evidence as well witnesses they wish to use.
This process even allows the two parties to send as well as answer written questions.
They may request for important documents or such materials that have any connection to the case.
The attorney of the insurance company has permission to go through the medical records of your personal injury, your work history and your financial statements.
In case of a lawsuit that involves claims for your personal injuries, the attorney of your insurance company may be given the right to have their own doctor check you.
Thus, in this discovery phase, you might be required to present yourself before a medical examiner or a psychological evaluator.
The time of completion of the discovery process may take months or even years, depending on which country you are in.
After this process, both the sides will try and go in for settlement discussions.
They may even go in for mediation in which a retired judge or a well-experienced attorney will supervise their settlement.
Mediation is a voluntary procedure.
In case there is no settlement regarding the personal injury claim, till the end of the discovery process, then the case proceeds to trial.
Both the parties will have the option whether they want to try the case before a judge or a jury.
Any one side that requests for a jury, must file a jury demand in court and pay the fee for the same