If someone becomes injured as a result of an accident or other unfortunate event, there may often be pain and suffering which affects the person who was injured. There can also be a financial impact caused by the need to pay for medical treatments or loss of income.
A responsible party is often held accountable to pay for damages from this situation. And depending on the circumstances, a personal injury trial may be required.
A personal injury accident can be a very difficult situation for many reasons as cited above. The person involved needs assistance and an attorney is often involved to help their clients to achieve the care or monetary awards they feel are justified. For many cases, any damages can be negotiated through some type of settlement.
The responsible party may negotiate with the injured party to pay for medical care. He or she may also pay the injured party an amount of money to cover damages based on pain and suffering or loss of income.
The attorney will often negotiate some type of settlement and arrange for all required paperwork to be filed. This will help to ensure that this situation is properly resolved and concluded.
However, if an adequate resolution cannot be achieved through a settlement, it may be necessary for the attorney to initiate a personal injury trial.
Preparations are made to present the merits of this case to a judge and/or jury.
Personal injury litigation may be initiated and filed against a responsible party.
What happens in a personal injury trial?
If a case goes to trial, the specifics of the case will be presented and the desired outcome specified. The trial will have the plaintiff who is normally the injured party and the defendant which is normally the responsible party who is being sued.
If may be necessary for witnesses to be heard regarding certain aspects of the case. For example, a witness may make testimony concerning things he/she heard or saw which pertain to the case. Or an expert witness may make testimony concerning injuries and their impacts.
All this testimony will be heard and reviewed by a judge and jury. If it is a jury trial, this group will evaluate the information presented and then make a determination of who is responsible and what damages should be assessed.
The jury will often determine a monetary award which should be paid to the injured party.
A personal injury trial can often take a long time to resolve and the legal costs can be prohibitive. However, depending on the circumstances, it may be the only reasonable way to achieve the desired outcome following an injury. If you or a loved one has been injured Raphaelson & Levine will fight for the compensation you deserve, give us a call 212-268-3222.
