Personal Injury Trial
Hiring a personal injury attorney is the best thing you can do before filing a personal injury case. The earlier you hire an attorney, the higher are the chances for you to reach a settlement agreement and avoid trial.
However, there are some situations when it is necessary to take your case to trial. However, in such cases, you must know why my personal injury case is going to trial.
It is intimidating for many to go to the trial. It is expected as it is not an everyday life scenario. However, to be comfortable and keep your focus on the proceedings, it is vital to be aware of the whereabouts of the trial room.
We are here to help you with the same. In this blog, you will know what happens in a courtroom, how your jury gets selected, and how a decision is made. Let’s dive in!
What to Expect at a Personal Injury Trial?
If you are unfamiliar with legal proceedings, you may confuse a lawsuit with a trial. When you officially register a complaint with the court, it is called a lawsuit. There are various steps involved between filing a lawsuit and getting your case heard at a trial. Studies claim that only 2% of lawsuits go to trial, while the remaining 98% get settled before.
Discovery
Before trial, there is a discovery phase where both plaintiff and defendant are involved. They interview relevant medical professionals, eyewitnesses, victims, and other stakeholders that have a central involvement in the injury incident. During this process, there are chances that one party comes up with the information that encourages settlement and avoids trial.
Jury Selection
Before commencing a trial, it is a must to select a jury that can hear your case and decide. The personal injury attorney in Fort Lauderdale has the right to deny and select a jury. This way, you can avoid the biases or skewing of the jury in one direction. Lawyers of both parties have the right to select and deny for the same reason.
Case Presentation
When you appear in a trial, the judge will have a short conference with lawyers in the chamber (judge’s office). It is a process in which the representatives get together and figure out if there is anything that the judge needs to know before the hearing.
During this conference, the judge also asks the lawyer for the required basic information of the case. It allows the judge to introduce the case appropriately to the jury and answer questions of the jury. The judge also asks for the time estimate from lawyers to get answers to the questions of the jury and opening statement. As per that time estimate, the judge plans the breaks and daily adjournment. They can also decide the time limit for lawyers if the judge observes any delay from the lawyer’s side.
Ruling
After presenting all the evidence and making final arguments, the jury decides and provides guidelines according to their decision. If you disagree with the decision and guidelines, you can appeal for a ruling. However, there are possibilities that it will restart your case. Consequently, you have to go through most of this process again.
How is the Trial Jury Selected?
All the potential jurors are brought into the court and seated as per the chart. The personal injury attorney in Fort Myers has a name list of the juror to match with the chart. This way, the attorney can know the names of the jurors.
The judge will then provide a neutral description of the case to the jury and do the initial questioning.
- The judge asks the attorney to introduce themselves, the client, and the expected witnesses.
- Furthermore, they ask the potential jurors if, by any chance, they know any of the attorneys, clients, or witnesses. If the answer is yes, the judge follows up on this.
- The judge asks the jurors if they have any knowledge of the case or the subject matter. If they do, they are involved as the head jury.
After the questioning, if the attorney feels jurors might not be fair to their client, they have the power to veto. These are known as “peremptory challenges”. Attorneys on each side get 3 to 4 strikes for it, depending on the number of parties involved in the trial.
Any juror who has a connection with the case of the prospects is dismissed. Any attorney can ask to remove the jury from the panel for any reason except the race, sex, and religion of the jury.
After jury selection, there is a short break in which attorneys can prepare their opening statements and personal injury case checklist.
Contact Us at the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato
The process looks complicated. However, when you have a good personal injury attorney like Wolf & Pravato by your side, your chances of winning a personal injury lawsuit shoot up. Reach out to us today to strengthen your case.
