If you were in a car accident, you may need a trial attorney to help protect your rights. This is especially true if your accident was complicated, involved multiple vehicles, or involved a business, such as a trucking company or shipping company. The more complicated your case is, the more likely you will benefit from an experienced attorney on your side if a settlement cannot be reached and your case goes before a jury.
Many people are unaware that only certain lawyers handle litigation (i.e. argue a person’s case to a jury in court). Movies and television shows can lead a person to think most lawyers argue cases to a jury in the courtroom. This is not true. In fact, there are more lawyers that do not argue cases in court than lawyers that do. As trial attorneys, we are able to handle your case whether through negotiating a settlement or if a settlement cannot be reached, by arguing your case to a jury in court.
Regardless of which direction your case takes, we can help to protect your rights and work towards a favorable outcome. In the event that you are in a bad accident, we will start by gathering information about what happened leading up to the accident, during the accident, and afterward. We will ask questions to find out what other vehicles were doing, how fast they were going, what the weather was like, where it happened, who was around, what was said, and more. All of these details give us important information that we can use during settlement negotiations, and more importantly – at trial. In the event that your case does go to trial, we will need to call witnesses to testify and explain what happened and why the other party (the defendant) party is to blame. These early conversations and evidence gathering are important for doing so.
If you know of any eye witnesses to your accident, let us know right away. We will want to interview them quickly while the details are fresh in their mind. We may even ask them to provide a written or recorded statement. The challenge is that if we don’t start building the case right away, witnesses may have forgotten some of the details by the time we get to speak with them.
As trial attorneys, we will also start to gather evidence beginning with the police report and photographs of the scene and, perhaps, attempting to download information – “crash data” – from your or the other party’s vehicle. If you possess any other evidence, let us know so that we can include it in our trial preparation. Keep in mind that the other party will probably hire a lawyer and come prepared with their own evidence and witnesses. Gathering information to confirm your side of the story is essential for receiving a positive outcome in court. To learn more or to schedule a consultation, give us a call.
