by: Attorneys Russell W. Beall & William W. Thies

You have been injured! We start this article with that statement because more often than not, it is the only thing you are absolutely certain of.  If you are like most people, you have a lot of questions and concerns.  You may be worried about medical treatment, time away from work, and the additional stress your injury has placed on loved ones. If this wasn’t enough, you have little or no understanding about how the law protects you under these circumstances.  Therefore, you have placed your trust with our office and allowed us to handle your case.
While we appreciate that trust, we also recognize that you may still have an uneasiness in not knowing how your case progresses through the civil justice system.  This article is designed to give you a very clear overview of the “life” of an injury case.  Please know this information is presented in a very generalized manner and is not intended to be a reflection of any one individual case.  Nor should this information be read as a guarantee that a case may progress through all the stages below.  The objective in any injury case is to get you compensated in a manner that considers your injuries and damages, the risks associated with trial, the time delays which are inherent in the system, and the costs of maintaining the case.  This being said, please bear in mind that not every case will progress through all the stages listed below, but rather most cases will settle long before trial.

Now, let us look at the different stages of an injury case.

Stage 1:    IN THE BEGINNING…..

Your legal right to bring a claim begins the moment the event occurs which brings about your injury…whether or not you realized your were injured.  Under Louisiana law you have one year from the date of the injury in which to file a lawsuit.  Usually, if no lawsuit is filed within that one year time period, you lose all rights to bring the claim.
In your initial meeting with our office, we gathered information from you relative to the facts of the accident, potential insurance coverages available, your life and how the accident has affected you thus far.  We consider the facts and whether or not the law allows a protection to you under the facts of your accident.  If we have agreed to accept your case, we have a reasonable basis to believe the law will afford you protection.  This is when we spring into action.

Stage 2:     CAN WE SETTLE….?

Let’s face it….no one wants to be in a lawsuit.  We know this, and we do everything we can to try to keep you out of one.  Most of the time we are able to settle your case without the need of a lawsuit.  Of course, there are times when a lawsuit is necessary.  A few examples of those are:

You are still treating for injuries one year following your accident;
The insurance company is not offering you fair value for your injury;
The insurance company is not accepting liability for your injury;
Your injuries are obviously severe, and we want to avoid the delay associated with lengthy settlement discussions which may likely breakdown;
There are multiple parties who may be at fault, and we want to insure they do not “disappear”.

Bear in mind that even if we file a lawsuit, the vast majority of cases settle before they reach trial.

Stage 3:    LAWSUIT!!!

Ok, for one reason or another your rights were best served by filing a lawsuit.  Don’t worry.  You are in good hands.  What we have done is drafted formal allegations of what caused your injury, identified the people who are responsible, why they are responsible, and the damages you have suffered. We file these allegations with the court and the lawsuit begins.
The sheriff will take a copy of the lawsuit to each defendant and they must answer each and every allegation we made.   Do not be surprised if they deny every one of them.  Once the defendant files an answer the case goes into a phase called “discovery”.

Stage 4:     COLUMBUS DISCOVERED AMERICA…WHAT WILL WE DISCOVERY?

This is the longest, but most important stage of your case.  During “discovery” we literally  discover facts which will help us prove your case at trial.  The law requires each side to exchange information honestly and as quickly as possible.  The objective is that both sides should know the strengths and weaknesses of each others case prior to trial.  Unlike television legal shows, there are very few surprises in a real life trial.

The law allows for many different ways to exchange information.  Here are some you will be most familiar with:

Written Interrogatories- Each side gets to send a list of questions to be answered in written form.
Request for Production – Each side gets to ask the other to produce certain relevant documents
Deposition – Each side has the opportunity to sit down with the parties involved in the lawsuit and ask the questions.  The questions and answers are recorded by a court reporter and transcribed into written text.  This oral testimony is “under oath” and has the same weight as if you were in court.

There are other “discovery” tools the law allows attorneys to utilize, but the above are the ones you will most likely encounter.

STAGE 5:     READY FOR TRIAL.

At this stage in your case we have completed all “discovery” and are beginning to put your case together for trial.  We either have, or will be meeting with the trial judge to pick a trial date.  We are starting to speak to your doctors and arrange for there testimony at trial.  If you case requires expert witnesses, we are now meeting with them as well.  We are preparing all exhibits and documents that will be offered into evidence. You will be notified of an appointment to meet with your attorneys and discuss how the trial will work and the nature of your testimony.

STAGE 6:     TRIAL

Well, here we are.  It has come down to this day.  All of the work that has been done will be put together in one neat cohesive package and presented to the judge or jury.  We will introduce you and give the judge/jury a little peek at your life.  We will show them the truth about what happened and how the accident has hurt you.  We present your case like a smooth flowing story that the judge or jury can easily understand and appreciate.

Every trial is different, but the one thing you can sure of is that we take each one very seriously.  After all, you have placed your trust in us and we are not about to let you down.