When an individual is involved in a car accident due to the negligent actions of another, they may be eligible to file a lawsuit to seek compensation. Litigation proceeds in a car accident case after the complaint is filed and the defendant has been served. Service of process is where the paperwork is handed to the defendant.
Car accident trials in Pascagoula could be complicated and challenging to navigate through alone. Therefore, it is best to speak to a knowledgeable car accident attorney to learn about how the trial process proceeds and the steps needed to seek compensation.
The trial process for a car accident case in Pascagoula begins with the judge picking a jury. The judge will have a group of people called venire, which is a group of jurors. The judge will go through some general qualifying statements and see who qualifies for being a jury member in the case. Certain people may be disqualified for various reasons. Once that group is there, the lawyers get to ask questions about their qualifications, and then the jury will be picked. A jury is a group of people that gets to decide the case. In federal court, it is seven people, and in circuit court, it is 12 people. The jury hears the evidence, and they will sit there and listen and make a decision.
An accident involving a government entity has to have a bench trial, but any party could waive their right to a jury and have a judge trial. Doing so could help streamline things and cuts down on some of the time involved with a jury.
There will be an opening statement where the lawyers get to lay out the case, and evidence will be presented. The jury will usually hear from the injured party and the defendants. They will also hear from any kind of physicians either by video or by getting the physician’s statement before trial and also hear from any kind of witnesses or other essential parties to the case. There will be a closing statement by both sides, and then the jury gets to go back and make a decision.
Car accident trials in Pascagoula, from filing the complaint until the settlement, could be a few months or it could be a few years depending on the complexity of the case. It depends on the court’s schedule and the facts of the case. One of the main factors is how long the plaintiff is treating. If it is an injury that resolves quickly, then the case could go to trial pretty quick. If it is a catastrophic injury that takes a long time to know the extent of the injuries and it is unknown what the final medical bills are going to be, then the trial can drag out longer.
If there are multiple defendants in car accident trials in Pascagoula, the plaintiff has to prove his case against all the defendants and each defendant gets to go second in some kind of a format. The order the case is presented could change by defendants, but usually, there is a discussion beforehand about how that will proceed.
Multiple defendants may influence the outcome of the case. The jury can assign fault to any of the defendants as well as the plaintiff. Depending on how much insurance is involved or the net worth of a particular defendant, there may be some recovery that is more significant against one defendant than others. It is also allocated by the fault, and the percentage is given by the jury.
Having multiple defendants could be confusing. Juries could easily be confused about who is who. Usually, people want to pin fault on one particular party and do not want several people involved. Not too much different than having a single defendant, a seasoned attorney will have to present the evidence in a way that the jury can keep track of which defendant did what particular act.
Pascagoula litigators want everyone to know that they will get a little bit overwhelmed by the process, but it is vital to find a skilled lawyer who is going to walk them through the process and make it easy. Fault is an essential element in a car accident case that litigators will always focus on. If they were at fault, even partially, then the other side will always try to increase the amount of fault involved. It is best to seek help from a knowledgeable attorney who could guide you through car accident trials in Pascagoula.
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