Personal injury cases are lawsuits filed when a person suffers an accident or injury due to the fault or negligence of another. Common personal injury cases involve car accidents, construction accidents, defective products, "slip and fall" incidents, and workplace accidents. Personal injury lawsuits are filed for victims to receive compensation for the wrong they suffered. If you lose a case, it could be the result of some very serious errors.
You Missed Important Deadlines
Every state has important procedures and deadlines for filing personal injury cases. Failure to obey the rules could have a case delayed or even completely dismissed. In the state of California, for instance, all personal injury cases must be filed in a state civil court within two years from the date of the injury unless the injury was not discovered right away, then it is one year from the date that the injury was discovered
You Did Not Have Convincing Evidence
If you bring a personal injury case to trial, you should have evidence to back up your allegations. If you are claiming injury, then you must have medical proof of that injury for the court. In addition, you must be able to show that it directly resulted from the accident. If you claim financial damages, you should have receipts and bills showing how much money you lost. If you are claiming property damages, you need to put forth invoices or estimates detailing the amount of damage. If anyone witnessed the accident, you can have them vouch for their account of events. In short, everything that you are claiming must be able to be backed up by concrete evidence.
Your Story Was Not Credible
No court will hand over money just because someone says they need it. If you lost your personal injury case, perhaps the jury was not clearly convinced by your case because your story was not credible. Chances are a jury will not believe you if your story keeps changing or you assert something that seems far-fetched. Even if you were caught in a single lie, that is enough for a jury to disbelieve your whole story.
You Didn't Settle When You Should Have
According to recent statistics, about 95% of personal injury claims will end in a pre-trial settlement. Usually, both parties want to avoid the time, money, and aggravation of going to trial. As such, both parties usually spend a lot of time negotiating or mediating their cases to find a resolution.
Cases lost at the trial level may have needed a better attorney advocating for their client's side during settlement talks. Or perhaps, the Plaintiff did not listen to their attorney's advice and decided that the settlement offer was not good enough. If you lost a personal injury case but were offered even a small settlement, perhaps you just took a risk that did not end well.
You Did Not Have An Attorney
Personal injury cases are tough. That's why it helps to have an attorney to represent your best interests. If you have been injured, you should contact Santa Barbara Personal Injury Lawyers. You can have a free consultation on your current personal injury case or seek information on how to appeal a lost case.
