Personal injury cases cover a broad range of accidents. A lot of things depend on the severity of the resulting damages. No two cases like slip and fall and car accidents will follow the same course or timeline. It depends on who was at fault and whether or not the accident is covered under an insurance policy or not.
Contacting a personal injury lawyer in Seattle will look over your case and will determine the best course of action for your case.
Steps involved in filing a personal injury claim
If you are injured in an accident, and you think someone else is responsible for it, you might want to find out if the person has insurance coverage so that it will kick in right away to cover any injury claim that you make.
It is important to know whether you would actually collect any damages the jury hands you after the trial. If you are severely injured after the accident, the fault is not clear cut, and you are covered under health insurance, you should think twice before filing a lawsuit against the person who has no insurance.
If you figure out that the other person is at fault for the accident, you must proceed to the next steps.
- If you need a personal injury attorney to represent your case
There can be simple cases where the injuries are not significant, and you are confident that you can obtain a satisfactory result by yourself. It is best at least to discuss your case with a personal injury lawyer. Keep in mind that hiring an attorney and talking with the one are not the same. Many lawyers provide a free consultation to discuss your case with you and give you possible legal options.
Depending on how much money is at stake and how complex your case is–and how much the other party is willing to put up the fight, it is best to have an attorney by your side.
- Filing a lawsuit
Most of the time, the majority of the injury cases settle before going to trial, and many are resolved even before a civil lawsuit is filed.
There are ways to recover compensation for your injury without running to the court to file a lawsuit. When there is insurance coverage, you can file a third-party claim against the person who caused the accident.
If your insurance negotiations or claims break down, you can always start the lawsuit process by filing a complaint in the state’s civil court’s local branch.
