How You Can Prepare Yourself if You Must File a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Being involved in a lawsuit —no matter which side you are on—is stressful.
Lawsuits mean conflict.
And conflicts—even when you are on the side of righteousness—are stressful.
So how can you prepare yourself if you must file a personal injury lawsuit?
Here are a few suggestions.
Think it Through. Get Good Advice.
By far the best thing you can do if you have been injured due to the negligence of another and believe you may need to file a personal injury lawsuit, is to talk to an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Getting the advice of counsel can go a long way towards helping you to understand exactly what you are facing, and to helping you feel more comfortable and confident in your situation.
An experienced personal injury attorney will analyze the facts of your case and help you understand how the law will apply to your particular facts. He will demystify the legal process for you and help you to have a realistic view of what to expect.
He will also make sure that your lawsuit is within the statute of limitations. Personal injury actions must be brought within a certain time period known as the statute of limitations. How long you have to file your lawsuit depends on the laws of your state and the type of action you are bringing. However, the main thing to understand is that if you do not file your lawsuit within the required time period, then your lawsuit will be rejected by the court.
Consulting with counsel on this as well as other aspects of your case will help you to prepare yourself.
Get Your Finances in Order
This can be difficult to do if you have been injured and are incurring unexpected medical expenses and costs, but if at all possible, you need to prepare financially if you are going to file a lawsuit.
Keep in mind that it can take some time (how long, depends, but it could be months or years) before you receive any compensation. For personal injury plaintiffs, some of this financial worry is alleviated by the fact that most personal injury attorneys take cases on contingency—meaning they do not get paid unless they win the case. However, there still will be court filing fees and costs that must ultimately be paid, so prepare yourself by understanding the realities of litigation and investigating possible resources you can turn to if necessary.
Consider Your Options. Consider Settlement.
Becoming entrenched in a position is a real hazard when it comes to lawsuits—especially when they involve emotionally charged situations, like personal injury actions.
Oftentimes, emotions can prevent one from being able to stay open to considering the best available options. Knowing when to compromise and when to settle can be valuable. So be certain to discuss your situation and all potential options with your personal injury lawyer.
And if your lawyer advises you to settle or compromise, think about it. Take what he or she says into consideration and think carefully before going against your advocate’s advice.
Sometimes settlement, although not the perfect solution or the one you wanted, is the best solution.
Part of being prepared to file a personal injury lawsuit involves being prepared to settle your claims.
Our experienced personal injury team can help you properly evaluate the situation.
Plan To Be Circumspect
Finally, as a personal injury plaintiff it is important to understand how talking about your case (or posting about it on social media) to people other than your legal team, can hurt your case.
Unless he advises you otherwise, let your attorney handle all communications regarding your case. And simply don’t post about it on social media.
You can best prepare yourself for filing a lawsuit simply by having a plan and thinking ahead about the best approach you can take.
There are no guarantees. Any lawsuit will be time-consuming and stressful. But the more you can think ahead and have a plan of action, the better prepared you will be, and the more confident you will feel.
Florida Accident Attorneys
Our attorneys are here to help injured individuals obtain the compensation they deserve. If you were involved in an accident, contact us here or simply call our firm at: 777-JOHN. We serve clients throughout Florida. Our main office is in Orange Park, but we have consulting offices in Palatka, Middleburg, Keystone, Starke, Gainesville, and Ocala.
