What Does Litigation Mean in a Personal Injury Case?

Personal injury cases tend to follow a certain timeline. First, you get injured due to another person or entity’s negligence. In the process, you incur losses or expenses from that injury. Since another party was responsible, you can then seek compensation for those losses. You might seek this compensation from the at-fault party themselves or from an insurance company that covers them.

Many injury victims will consult a lawyer at some point during their case. Depending on how things proceed, you may eventually decide to file a lawsuit against the responsible party and allow a court to determine how much compensation you’re legally entitled to.

The average person might consider this whole process as “litigation.” However, that isn’t a wholly accurate description.

What Part of the Personal Injury Claims Process Counts as Litigation?

Defining Litigation

The term “litigation” refers to a specific phase of a personal injury case. It begins when you file a formal lawsuit against the at-fault party and ends when a ruling is made. As such, litigation is only one part of the personal injury claims process that involves the U.S. civil court system.

While tasks like gathering evidence and engaging in negotiation may support eventual litigation efforts, these steps are often classified as pre-litigation actions.

Although many people casually associate personal injury claims with litigation, the latter term refers specifically to the portion of the process where the courts are involved.

Steps of the Litigation Process

Litigation starts as soon as your lawyer files a lawsuit with the appropriate court. This serves to inform the court that you intend to take legal action against another party. Once you’ve filed a suit with the court, you’ll be required to notify the defendant — the lawsuit can’t proceed until they’ve been served notice.

The most time-consuming part of most cases begins after the defendant has been notified of the lawsuit. This is when both sides share information and petition the court to limit or allow certain types of evidence. Attorneys on both sides must respond to every motion. Failing to do so could result in a dismissal or summary judgment, depending on who fails to respond.

Motions can potentially last for months (or even years) before a case finally goes to trial. By the time a trial takes place, both sides will know what to expect in the courtroom — the only question remaining is which party the jury will side with. The trial phase typically takes a few weeks and ends when the jury issues a verdict.

The litigation process also includes any appeals, if applicable. As a rule, if a party is willing to let a case go to trial, there’s a good chance they’ll appeal the verdict if it’s unfavorable. While appeals are streamlined and take less time, they still usually include several motions that both parties must respond to.

Have you or a loved one been injured due to another person’s reckless or negligent actions? Litigation may be the only way to get the compensation you need to recover from the harm that’s been done. Contact Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana at (251) 444-7000 to schedule a free consultation.

Why Most Personal Injury Cases Never Reach Litigation

The vast majority of personal injury cases don’t make it to the litigation stage. This is true for several reasons.

First, litigation is expensive. Until a case goes to trial, insurance companies typically don’t spend much on legal services. They may involve their lawyers in settlement negotiations, but that only takes a matter of hours. Once a case reaches the litigation stage, attorneys do most of the work. This could mean that the insurance company is on the hook for hundreds of billable hours, which can get expensive quickly. Most insurance companies will take the potential costs of litigation into account when considering whether to offer a settlement.

Another reason litigation is rare is that Alabama law gives accident victims two years from the date of their injuries to file a lawsuit. If your child were to suffer a birth injury, for example, you wouldn’t need to worry about taking legal action while dealing with the shock of the delivery or getting the treatment your child needs. In such an instance, you could wait until your life has calmed down and you have time to focus on the lawsuit.

This extra time also gives your attorney an opportunity to negotiate with the at-fault party’s insurance company. When negotiations are rushed, they may not turn out well, or one side might refuse to accept them. When they move at a reasonable pace, however, it’s much more likely that both sides will agree to a fair compromise.

Finally, litigation presents a much higher risk for both sides. The Alabama Rules for Civil Procedure are quite complex, and it’s easy for even experienced attorneys to make mistakes while navigating them. While some errors may be inconsequential; others could result in a case being lost before it even reaches a jury. Neither side wants to take that risk.

Even if nothing goes wrong, there’s no way to be certain how a jury will rule once it has reviewed all the evidence. Two different juries could return very different results despite being presented with the same evidence in the same way. That could result in your getting nothing or in the at-fault party’s insurer being ordered to pay tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars more than expected. Working out a settlement is the best way to avoid this particular risk of litigation.

Contact Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana Today for Reliable Legal Assistance

While litigation is considered a last resort in most personal injury cases, it’s an essential part of the legal process. The threat of litigation alone may be enough for the plaintiff’s lawyer to secure a fair settlement. If not, they can take the next step of advocating for their client in court.

Are you considering litigation after suffering an injury? The skilled attorneys at Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana can help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. Call us today at (251) 444-7000 to schedule a free case review.