What to Expect During the Car Accident Lawsuit Process

If you or a loved one were involved in a car accident, you may be experiencing severe pain, facing high medical bills, and wondering what the car accident lawsuit process is like. To answer your questions, we will explain what to expect from the lawsuit, what the auto accident settlement timeline may be like, and what you should expect if your car accident lawsuit ends up going to trial.

Need to Know:

• Get medical attention, if necessary, and notify your insurance company immediately
• Do not admit fault or accept any settlement offers from the insurance company without speaking to an attorney
• Hire an experienced attorney who can help you file a lawsuit and get the compensation you deserve

A good lawyer is essential to help you recover the compensation that you deserve for your injuries. Remember that an insurance company is looking to resolve your case for the lowest amount of money possible. They are not on your side.  An experienced attorney will provide the expertise you need to recover maximum compensation.

In This Article:

• How to Start a Car Accident Lawsuit
• The Auto Accident Settlement Timeline
• The Car Accident Injury Settlement Process
• What to Expect if Your Car Accident Lawsuit is Going to Trial
• Car Accident Lawsuit Example: $13.5 Million Recovery for Our Client
• Consulting an Experienced Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyer

How to Start a Car Accident Lawsuit

The most important step to take following a car accident is to receive appropriate medical attention. Even if you fail to seek out medical attention immediately, you should pay close attention to how you feel after a car crash. Many times, injuries take time to reveal themselves.  That can be because it is a developing injury or because the adrenaline you experienced after the collision helped mask your pain or discomfort. You can seek medical attention even after time passes.

The next thing you should do is notify your insurance carrier of the accident, which most policies require following a crash. When reporting your accident, do not admit any fault and do not accept any settlement offers before contacting an experienced car accident lawyer. Settlement offers can come from your insurance company but more likely will be from the insurance company who insures the other driver.

Also note that there is a time period during which the lawsuit must be filed, known as the statute of limitations. Depending on the state your accident occurred in, this could be anywhere from 1-6 years. Many states have other deadlines that folks should be aware of.  New York, for instance, has No-Fault laws which allow someone involved in a crash to receive appropriate medical treatment and recover lost wages provided they file a no-fault application within 30 days of the crash. This underscores why it is critical to contact an experienced lawyer so they can make sure the proper paperwork has been filed.

Additionally, there is generally no up-front cost with personal injury attorneys, because they operate on a ‘contingency basis,’ which means that they are not paid unless and until your case is resolved and their payment is a portion of the recovery (settlement, judgment, or arbitration). When it comes to something as critical as your health and mounting medical bills, give yourself the best chance and hire a professional.

When meeting with an attorney, be sure to bring all documentation you have relating to the accident, such as:

• Copies of police reports
• Pictures of the accident scene, the damage to the vehicles involved and any other photographs or videos of the accident or relevant to the accident
• Contact information of the other driver, his or her insurance company, and any witnesses
• Medical reports or prescriptions you have received
• Any notes about the accident or injuries that you have kept
• Any correspondence from insurance companies or the other driver
• A copy of your insurance policy or declaration (dec) sheet
• Your no-fault claim number and another other claim numbers from any of the insurance companies

Getting this information to your attorney is critical for multiple reasons. First, it preserves the evidence – photographs of the accident scene are not as persuasive after the cars are moved; unidentified witnesses to an accident often cannot be found later without any name or contact information. In addition, it can also potentially save time, which will help avoid unnecessary delays in resolving your case. In addition, it can provide your attorney with a more complete picture of how the accident occurred, who was involved in the accident, the amount of insurance available to compensate you, and the type of injuries you may have sustained in the accident. These factors can help assess the best course of action in your case and ensure your rights are protected for the future, should your injuries be serious or develop and persist more than you might have initially expected.

Your attorney will likely contact the other vehicle or vehicle’s insurance carrier and may begin to exchange information with the insurance company, particularly regarding the injuries you suffered and may explain how liability might be assessed. It’s possible your attorney will decide whether the offer the insurance company is making is fair and advise you to accept it – but remember that it is always your choice whether you accept a settlement offer, not your attorney’s choice. This is a rare occurrence, however, because an insurance adjuster’s job is to pay as little money as possible in the event of a car accident.

Sometimes, a person may be very seriously injured and the other vehicle is clearly at fault, but there is a limited amount of insurance coverage available. More often, the injuries are not necessarily clear cut right after the accident and the insurance company wants to take the time to see how injuries develop, to see what the drivers and witnesses will state or testify about how the accident occurred and to review all the evidence that emerges about the accident.

When the accident liability is contested or the injuries are not clear cut, there is likely going to be a significant difference between the initial offer the insurance company makes and the amount of money you may be able to recover later on for your injuries. When your attorney and the insurance company disagree on the appropriate amount of compensation you are entitled to, your attorney may formally begin the car accident lawsuit process by filing a legal complaint.

The Auto Accident Settlement Timeline

When some people envision what filing a lawsuit is like, they may picture dramatic courtroom scenes. But the reality is that most car accident lawsuits (and other types of lawsuits as well) settle out of court. There are many reasons for this, but the most basic one is that out-of-court settlement is usually faster and less risky for both parties. Jury verdicts are unpredictable by nature. Trial costs can also be extensive and can reduce your overall recovery. It can also take several years to reach the time that a court will allow a trial to proceed, particularly in ‘downstate’ New York.

A Complaint is Filed and Served

Once your attorney has filed your complaint, it must be “served” on the Defendants. The complaint makes allegations that lay out the elements of the legal theories under which you are filing a lawsuit. In the case of a car accident or other personal injury accident, a negligence claim will usually be included in this complaint. In New York State, the negligence claims can also be based on violations of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, such as failing to stop and yield at a stop sign, following the vehicle ahead too closely (rear-end collision), failing to yield to a pedestrian, failing to yield the right of way to another vehicle, unsafe lane change and others.

The Defendant Answers the Claim

The Defendant’s attorney, generally a lawyer appointed by the insurance company for the Defendant vehicle owner, will then “answer” the complaint by admitting or denying knowledge or information of the allegations made in the complaint.

They will also generally assert defenses, particularly types of defenses that the law requires them to affirmatively assert, like that the Defendant driver was faced with an emergency, had an unexpected medical event or mechanical problem, but also defenses that include that you were solely or partially at fault for causing the accident, that you failed to wear a seatbelt, that you failed to mitigate damages (meaning basically that you did not seek medical treatment or reasonably treat your injuries to make yourself better), and others. In some instances, they may make a “crossclaim” and try to blame a third-party for the accident, such as another vehicle or a municipality for the condition of the roadway or the traffic signs. In most car accident lawsuits, the Defendant will try and shift liability for the accident in some way.

Discovery Begins

In the “discovery” phase of the lawsuit, your attorney will begin exchanging documents while also requesting materials from your adversary in an effort to support your claim and attain the compensation you are seeking. The law entitles Defendants in car accident lawsuits to receive all of the medical records pertinent to the case, including records from your treatments, diagnostic tests and prescriptions for the injuries you sustained in the accident, as well as any and all records of treatment for past injuries and conditions that can impact the value of the injuries you sustained in the car accident.

A good attorney will exchange information regarding the cost of your medical treatment, including medications, surgeries, follow-up appointments and diagnostic tests, to begin showing the insurance company the cost of your past care, which is a part of the damages you are entitled to recover in the lawsuit. Later in the case, if the injuries are serious and it is warranted, an experienced attorney will also retain medical professionals as experts to  their opinions about physical limitations your injuries caused, the amount of medical care you are expected to need in the future as a result of the injuries you sustained in the accident and whether the limitations from your injuries have affected your ability to work.

Another key feature of the discovery phase of a lawsuit is testimony from both drivers. In New York State cases, testimony is acquired through depositions.

Deposition and Testimony

In other states and federal courts, there may be interrogatories. An interrogatory is a question posed to a party that they must answer by a certain date. Just because an interrogatory is posed, however, does not necessarily mean it needs to be answered. The Defendant’s attorney may argue that the interrogatory posed is not relevant to the case in an attempt to relieve their client of having to provide sensitive or damning information. Answers given to an interrogatory are considered to be given under oath.

A deposition is also an opportunity to present questions which the other party must answer under oath. However, a deposition happens in-person, in the presence of both attorneys and a court reporter who records what is said. In a deposition, an attorney is looking to discover information, assess the witness and secure testimony which can be presented at trial.

A deposition is also an opportunity for an attorney to scrutinize somebody’s character and background, to better understand how that person may present themselves to a jury at trial. In the case of a car accident, the Defendant’s attorney, who is hired by the insurance company, will generally have to provide a report to the insurance company about the type of person the injured party is, whether he or she is believable and likeable (which can affect the value of the case) and what the substance of the testimony was as well as whether that testimony about the accident and injuries seems believable.

By the time the initial discovery phase is completed, both sides will have given their version of the car accident. They may also have sought out expert opinions which enforce their position regarding liability. These expert opinions are also exchanged during the discovery phase of the case. This is the stage of the car accident lawsuit process where many cases settle – but not always.

The Car Accident Injury Settlement Process

Once information has been exchanged and evidence has been obtained in the initial discovery phase, your attorney may draft a letter which will restate the Defendant’s liability in the accident, the injuries you suffered and the other damages which must be compensated in order to ‘make you whole again.’ This is a negotiation strategy many attorneys employ.

Sometimes, formal negotiations will not begin until you have reached a point in your treatment where your lawyer is comfortable engaging the opponent. This might be done to capture the full scope of the injuries you suffered, and the time and money required to recover from them. Other times, your attorney may retain expert medical doctors to opine how much treatment you will be expected to need in the future; an expert economist can then project the cost of that treatment over your life expectancy.

When appropriate, both (or all) lawyers will begin to discuss a possible settlement. If an agreement is not reached but the two (or more) sides are close, a mediation may be agreed upon. Mediation involves the attorneys from all sides and a neutral mediator who facilitates negotiations. Sometimes the injured party and the insurance adjuster will attend; more typically, they will need to be available by phone. Mediation is a valuable tool because it allows the attorneys to speak freely in an informal setting without fear of something they say being held against them in court.

In mediation, the attorneys will try to persuasively advocate on their client’s behalf in front of the mediator and then negotiate the case with the mediator privately. All participants will then reconvene so that the mediator can use the information they learned to help the parties reach an agreement.

If the sides are too far apart to reach a satisfactory settlement, however, the mediation may end without a resolution. This does not mean settlement negotiations have ended, however. In some cases, information learned at a mediation can lay the ground for another mediation attempt or further negotiations which may prove more fruitful.

What to Expect if Your Car Accident Lawsuit is Going to Trial

If mediation fails and a settlement has still not been reached, the legal case will continue to proceed and, eventually, a trial will be scheduled. The trial date could be set six months or even a year or more in advance, which may surprise and frustrate Plaintiffs who are eager to be compensated for their injuries.

A trial can be done in front of a jury (as most are familiar with), or it can be done in front of a judge without a jury present in what is known as a “bench trial.” In the event of a jury trial, jurors are carefully screened for biases, prejudices, or anything at all that might make them unable to render a fair verdict and chosen in a process known as jury selection.

When the trial begins, both sides will give their opening statements to summarize their position on the case and give an introduction to the jury (or judge) about what the evidence is expected to show. Both sides will then have the opportunity to produce witnesses and sometimes experts who will give testimony and be cross-examined. A Plaintiff has the burden of proof – meaning, in a car accident lawsuit, to show that the Defendant was at fault for the accident, that the Plaintiff sustained serious injuries as a result of the accident and what the value of those injuries is.

The Defendant does not bear the burden of proof and can choose to present no witnesses or evidence at all and simply cross examine and attack the evidence presented by the Plaintiff’s attorney. When this is done and each side has had an opportunity to present and support their version of events, as well as raise questions about the story laid out by the opposition, both attorneys will give their closing arguments. Closing arguments are like a conclusion, explaining to the jury how the evidence showed what the attorney said it would show and how that means the jury should find in favor of the attorney’s client.

Once closing arguments have been given, the judge will instruct the jury on what the law is that they must follow in reaching their verdict. In a car accident lawsuit, this will typically involve instructing the jury what the standard for negligence is, as well as instructing the jury on how evidence may be considered, including witnesses and direct versus circumstantial evidence. The jury will then meet, deliberate, and eventually render a verdict. Although it is hard to predict how long a jury will deliberate for, the majority of car accident jury deliberations are over in a day or two. Still, some trials have resulted in long and heated deliberations.

Keep in mind that at any point in the trial, even while the jury is deliberating, a settlement may still be reached. By this point, both sides will have invested significant time and money into the car accident lawsuit process and will be highly motivated to reach an agreement that they can both be content with.

Car Accident Lawsuit Example: $13.5 Million Recovery for Our Client

The lawyers at Block O’Toole & Murphy fought tirelessly for our client, a 24-year-old woman who was struck by a car while walking home at night. The defendant driver claimed that she did not see the plaintiff because of the dark clothing she was wearing and the dimly lit roadway.

However, our Partners, Daniel O’Toole and Scott Occhiogrosso, presented a team of experts who testified that the defendant should have been able to see the plaintiff at a distance of 174 feet. They also presented an accident reconstruction that estimated the defendant’s speed at the time of impact to be 35 miles per hour. They even presented photographs of the victim’s belongings, which went flying so far as to create a “debris field” along the roadway.

The jury deliberated for four weeks before reaching a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. The case was eventually settled for a record-breaking $13.5 million, which is the largest reported settlement of a personal injury case in the history of Suffolk County, New York.

The team at Block O’Toole & Murphy were able to achieve this incredible result because they were relentless in their pursuit of justice for our client. They worked tirelessly to investigate and gather evidence to build a strong case. By assembling a team of experts and reconstructing the accident, they were able to present the truth to the jury, even in the face of an aggressive defense.

Consulting an Experienced Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyer

The car accident lawsuit process can be time-intensive, which is why you need an experienced attorney at your side who can navigate legal hurdles while you focus on recovering from the injuries you’ve suffered.

The lawyers of Block O’Toole & Murphy have a proven track record litigating motor vehicle accidents and have won more results exceeding $1 million than any other law firm in New York every year since 2012. To receive a free, no-obligation legal consultation from one of our experienced attorneys, call 212-736-5300 or fill out our contact form. We are proud to serve all of New York and New Jersey.