What Does It Take To Get A Personal Injury Case To Trial?

Clients often ask us what it will take to get their personal injury case to trial. We can’t give every client the same answer because every case is different; however, there are things that we take into consideration when discussing the possibility of going to trial.

Before a case can even go to trial there has to be an agreement between the client and the attorney that a lawsuit should be filed. There are a number of factors that can help determine whether filing a lawsuit is necessary such as how big the case is, how bad the damages or injuries are and/or how good the liability coverage is.

If a lawsuit is filed then the discovery phase begins. The discovery phase is where each party gets to take depositions and ask questions of the other side to gather documents and physical evidence. Then each party will review the evidence they have collected whether on their own or by requesting it from the other party. This process can take months or even years to complete depending on the number of witnesses involved, how many doctors are involved, the extent of the damages and injuries, and how many outside experts will be involved.

The parties will ask the court for a trial date. Depending on where the case is filed, will determine the trial date. It could take a few months or over a year to get a trial date. It is possible that settlement discussions will begin at this time. If the parties can’t come to a settlement agreement then they are required to go to mediation. If they can’t come to an agreement at mediation then they have a pre-trial conference with a judge. The judge will encourage settlement but if the parties still can’t come to an agreement with the judge then they set a trial date. There are often times where the trial date gets pushed back to the trial docket and changes in the judge’s calendar. (We have a separate video that discusses the trial process which you can find on our website or YouTube channel at one of the links below.)

If you have any questions about your personal injury case or any other questions about taking your personal injury case to trial, you can either call 407-565-7386, text us at 407-644-4444, or email us at kmc@cullen-hemphill.com. We are always happy to offer a no obligation, free consultation to discuss your case with you. There are also a number of different videos available on our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz5kDuiaR6fOfBBkdXH1STQ and our website, https://cullen-hemphill.com/, that may answer more of your questions.