Process of a Personal Injury Case

After suffering injuries in an accident caused by someone else, you may wonder whether you have a case against the person responsible for your harm and loss. Although the accident injury case timeline differs for every person, an experienced personal injury attorney can walk you through the process and help you make the right choices at each step. 

Contact Haug, Farrar, Franco & Ruiz, PLLC, for a free, no-obligation case evaluation to learn more about the personal injury lawsuit process. We will provide the information you need to get started on pursuing financial recovery and accountability for your accident.

What Are the Steps of a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Mississippi?

The legal process for injury claims often involves multiple stages. Although your personal injury case may not include all these steps, you can expect to experience most of the following phases:

• Getting Treatment

  You should seek medical attention for your injuries promptly after an accident. Follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations and recovery instructions, including any medical restrictions on work or physical activity. Do not defer treatment or rehab for your injuries. 

  Getting medical care immediately after an accident has several benefits. First, prompt treatment may improve your prognosis and shorten your recovery timeline. A lack of treatment can worsen or aggravate your injuries. 

  Second, prompt treatment may ward off arguments by at-fault parties or insurance companies that your failure to mitigate your injuries should impact your financial recovery. 

  Finally, seeking immediate medical care will help link your injuries to the accident, which may prevent the insurance company from arguing that your injuries resulted from another trauma or a preexisting degenerative condition.

• Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer

  Once you’ve begun treatment, you should seek legal representation to help you evaluate whether you may have a personal injury claim and pursue financial recovery from those responsible for your injuries. Most lawyers offer free initial consultations, so you don’t have to pay anything to talk to a lawyer about your legal options.

• Investigating Your Case

  When you hire a personal injury attorney, your lawyer can help you investigate and prepare your case. They can gather documentation to establish your injuries and losses, including your medical records, pay stubs/income statements, bills, invoices, and receipts. Your attorney can also thoroughly investigate the accident or incident that led to your injuries to recover evidence proving the other party’s fault. 

  In addition, the attorney can work with expert witnesses in fields such as accident reconstruction, engineering, medicine, or finance. This could build a compelling case to prove the other party’s fault for your injuries and the extent of your ongoing and future losses.

• Filing Your Insurance or Legal Claims

  Once your attorney has investigated your case and assembled a compelling legal argument supporting your right to compensation, they can file claims with the at-fault parties and insurance companies to begin pursuing a financial recovery from them. Your attorney can ensure the insurance company has the information it needs to process your claim while preventing adjusters from engaging in a “fishing expedition” to find evidence the insurer can try to use against you.

• Settlement Negotiations

  After filing insurance claims and demand letters, your lawyer can negotiate with the at-fault parties and insurers to pursue a settlement of your claim. You and your attorney may need to trade counteroffers with the opposing party or insurance company during the personal injury settlement process to reach an acceptable settlement figure. Your attorney may also suggest mediation as an option to pursue a settlement.

• Filing a Lawsuit

  If the opposing party or insurance company doesn’t agree to a fair settlement, you may need to file a lawsuit to pursue the financial recovery you deserve. Your attorney can draft a complaint that complies with court rules and puts forth a compelling case for your right to compensation.

• Discovery

  Discovery is the period during litigation when the parties exchange evidence and depose witnesses to identify the issues in dispute for trial. When discovery reveals no material facts in dispute, parties may seek summary judgment in their favor.

• Trial

  If your case is not resolved through a settlement or summary judgment motion, the case will eventually reach trial. Here, your attorney can present evidence, witness testimony, and arguments to a judge and jury to pursue a favorable verdict and judgment. After trial, the process may conclude with collecting the compensation awarded to you by the judgment or an appeal of the verdict and judgment.

How Long Does the Personal Injury Process Take?

No one can predict how long the process may take because every case is different. Some personal injury claims settle in a few months. Other cases take years to reach a trial and verdict. The timeline of your claim may vary based on multiple factors.

What Compensation Could I Receive Through a Personal Injury Claim?

In a personal injury claim, you may have the opportunity to recover compensation from those liable for your harm and losses. A financial recovery in your case may include money for your:

• Medical treatment and rehabilitation, including emergency care, hospitalization, surgeries, prescriptions, pain management, and physical/occupational therapy
• Long-term care and support for disabilities that result from your injuries
• Loss of wages/income if you need to take time off work during your recovery or earn less due to medical restrictions requiring you to transfer to part-time or light-duty work
• Loss of future earnings and employment benefits if you become permanently disabled from your present job or other types of work
• Physical pain and anguish
• Emotional trauma and distress from the accident or your injuries/disabilities
• Lost quality of life due to disabilities or permanent scarring/disfigurement

What Could Impact Getting My Case Resolved?

Some of the circumstances that may influence when your personal injury case gets resolved include:

• The nature and severity of your injuries
• Whether your injuries result in permanent disabilities
• The duration of your medical treatment and rehabilitation
• The complexity of the evidence in your case, including whether you need experts to investigate and review the facts of your case
• The number of parties liable for your injuries and losses
• Whether other people also got hurt in the same accident that injured you
• Whether you share any responsibility for causing the accident
• The strength of your legal case
• The availability of insurance coverage
• How quickly the insurance company investigates and processes your claim
• Whether you need to file a lawsuit to pursue financial recovery
• The schedule/availability of the trial court hearing your personal injury lawsuit

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Mississippi?

Under Mississippi’s statute of limitations, plaintiffs typically have three years after getting hurt in an accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. In certain circumstances, a plaintiff may have longer to file their lawsuit if the statute of limitations tolls (pauses) because they have not had a reasonable opportunity to discover the injury or the facts underpinning the claim.

However, the law requires you to follow a specific procedure if you have a personal injury claim against the state or a local government. You must file your lawsuit within one year of the accident. In addition, you must give the government notice of your claim at least 90 days before filing suit, although the one-year statute of limitations tolls for 95 days from the date the government receives your claim notice.

You should contact a Gulfport personal injury attorney from Haug, Farrar, Franco & Ruiz, PLLC, immediately after an accident. If you file your lawsuit after the deadline, the trial court can dismiss your case, and you may lose the opportunity to recover compensation for your injuries and losses.

What Can a Gulfport Personal Injury Lawyer Do for My Case?

When you’ve suffered injuries in an accident, you want to focus on your medical treatment and rehabilitation so you can get back to regular life. However, you also deserve to pursue financial recovery from those responsible for your injuries, and you may have limited time to file your claim. 

A Gulfport personal injury lawyer from Haug, Farrar, Franco & Ruiz, PLLC, can help with your recovery by handling all the details of your claim while you focus on healing. Turn to our firm for knowledgeable legal advice on your injury case. We will do the following:

• Thoroughly investigate the accident that led to your injuries to obtain evidence in support of your claim
• Identify the party or parties who may bear liability for your injuries and losses
• Evaluate your legal options for seeking financial recovery, including filing insurance claims or pursuing a personal injury lawsuit
• Document your injuries and losses to ensure we pursue maximum compensation for your ongoing and future expenses and needs
• File your claims and lawsuits and fight for the financial recovery you need and deserve, whether through a settlement or by going to trial to demand justice for you

Contact Our Gulfport Personal Injury Law Firm Today

Still have questions about what to expect in your accident injury case? Reach out to us for a free, no-obligation consultation with our Gulfport personal injury attorneys. Our lawyers have significant experience negotiating personal injury settlements for the maximum compensation. We can guide you through the lawsuit process and provide the advice you need to make informed decisions for your best interests at each step. Contact Haug, Farrar, Franco & Ruiz, PLLC, today to learn more.