Cedarville, AR Personal Injury Lawyer

Nobody wants to get hurt. However, accidents happen, and people are, sadly, seriously injured every day. Victims of these accidents can end up with serious injuries that are expensive to treat and may follow them for the rest of their lives. When those accidents happen because of negligence, though, you may want justice to be done to those who injured you.

When you are looking to hold people accountable for negligently hurting you, you need professional, competent legal counsel in your corner. We provide just that. Our firm has dealt with many personal injury cases, so we know what it takes to fight for you and win in court.

Speak to our personal injury attorneys about your case by calling (479) 316-0438 today.

Steps of a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Cedarville, AR

Most people know that lawsuits end in trial. In reality, the trial is the final step in a very long and intense legal process. In fact, many personal injury lawsuits never make it to trial and are resolved at some point beforehand. During that time, our personal injury attorneys will be doing many different things, some of which you will need to be involved in for your claim to be successful.

Initial Discussions and Filing Your Claim

The first step in any personal injury lawsuit is to get in touch with an attorney. When you first come to us, we can help you with general things about your claim. Once you retain us as counsel, we can really start getting into specifics and tailoring our services to fit your needs.

Another important thing that needs to happen early on is ensuring that your claim is filed on time. States put time limits on how long plaintiffs have to file claims under laws called statutes of limitations. Per Ark. Code. § 16-56-105, you have three years from when you get injured to get your case filed. If you fail to do that, you waive your right to sue, a court cannot hear your claim, and you will not be able to be awarded any damages. Three years can go by in a flash, especially in the context of personal injury cases, so be sure to start the process as soon as you can.

Discovery Requests

In legal disputes, lawyers will exchange information with one another through a process called discovery. Giving information to your opponent may look weird, but doing this is extremely important to ensure that trials are done fairly. Things like people likely to testify, important pieces of information, and other items are shared between the parties so that there are no surprises at an impending trial. However, you should not worry about having to hand over absolutely everything to the other side, as various privileges protect some things that do not need to be disclosed.

Depositions

Another way that information is collected before trial is through depositions, which are formal, under-oath interviews lawyers conduct for plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses, and other individuals important to a legal matter. As a plaintiff, you are pretty much guaranteed to get deposed in your case, so it is useful to know how they work.

Depositions can be taken anywhere, but they are usually done in an office or conference room setting. Present will be you, opposing counsel, our lawyers, and a professional recorder to make a record of what is said. For your deposition, opposing counsel will ask questions first. They will start out simple, like asking your name and what you do for a living. However, the subject matter will quickly turn to things relevant to your claim. Answer as truthfully as you can, as hiding things in a deposition is very bad for your claim. If any questions are out of line or unfair, we can object, and you will not need to answer.

Once opposing counsel has asked their questions, our lawyers get to ask things we want to get information on the record. Lawyers can go back and forth in this way until they feel they have got what they need from the deposition. Because both parties are interested in being thorough, depositions can take a long time, potentially all day.

Pre-Trial Hearings and Motions

There are still things that happen in the courtroom before a trial takes place. From time to time, you, our lawyers, or both will need to go to court for various reasons. Some may be of little consequence, like scheduling when a trial happens. Other hearings will be on very important matters, like whether certain pieces of evidence are allowed into trial or not.

Settlement Offers

Sometimes, one party will offer to “settle” the case without going to trial. When parties settle, they agree to terms they have worked out, nobody gets found liable in court, and the case is dropped. Settling is often stereotyped as “weak,” but it is anything but. Settlements have guaranteed outcomes, unlike trials, and many plaintiffs get all the financial compensation they need and more through settlements, so you should talk with our lawyers if the defendant offers any settlements to see if it is a good idea to accept the offer.

Trial

If a case makes it all the way to trial, most of the real legal work has already been done, and both sides aim to present the case in a way that makes their client look best to the judge and jury. Our lawyers will be looking to show the jury the truth of what happened – that the defendant negligently caused your injuries. Once the jury sees all the facts and evidence, they will determine whether the defendant is liable or not and how much compensation you get in damages should the defendant be found liable for your injuries.

Have Our Cedarville, AR Personal Injury Attorneys Help You Out Today

Get a free case review from our personal injury attorneys by calling our office at (479) 316-0438.