PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS

        

This section is intended to provide a brief overview of the personal injury claims process.  While every personal injury case is different, most civil damage claims progress through some or all of the following stages:

 

 

Investigation

Preliminary Evaluation

Settlement Negotiations

Filing a Lawsuit

Pleadings

Discovery

Pre-Trial Conference

Settlement or Trial

Post-Trial Motions

Appeal

 

 

     

            •    Investigation        

        

Thorough investigation of a claim is absolutely essential if the claim is to be successfully settled or successfully prosecuted through trial.  Our investigation begins the first time we interview you and it generally continues in some form until the case is finally resolved.  For example, in a case involving an automobile accident the investigation will probably include obtaining all relevant police reports, interviewing police officers, passengers and witnesses, photographing the automobiles and the crash scene, and gathering hospital and medical records.

  

        

            •    Preliminary Evaluation

        

After the initial investigation of your case, and after your medical condition has stabilized, we evaluate your case with you for settlement purposes.  We consider a wide variety of factors which include but are not limited to, the extent of your injury, the amount of your property damage, your medical bills and future medical requirements, lost wages, and many other related factors.  Once we agree on a settlement amount we initiate settlement negotiations on your behalf

 

 

            •    Settlement Negotiations

                                        

Settlement negotiations may begin at any time, and they may continue up to the time of trial.  Your decision regarding a settlement can be changed by you at any time before you actually reach an agreement. It is important to understand that a settlement, by its nature, represents a compromise.  Therefore, your case is unlikely to settle unless you are willing to compromise something.  Settlement negotiations are also privileged, which means that all demands, offers and rejections cannot be used against the party making the statements at a later trial.

        

        

            •    Filing a Lawsuit

        

Formal litigation is initiated by filing a document with the Court called a Complaint.  The Complaint contains a general statement of the facts on which your claim against the defendant is based.  It is the first document the defendant receives, and does not usually state the amount the plaintiff (you) is suing to recover.  A Complaint is filed in a specific Courthouse usually in the county where the plaintiff lives.  A Complaint is not assigned to a specific Trial Judge, instead, many different judges may be to assigned to the file at different times during the course of the litigation.  Once the complaint is filed, the defendant is required to file pleadings in response to the Complaint.  When all of the necessary pleadings have been filed, the case can be claimed for trial.

 

 

            •    Discovery       

        

After a lawsuit is filed, all of the parties to the lawsuit have the right to conduct a formal investigation of all the issues raised in the pleadings. This formal investigation is called pre-trial discovery and it involves a variety of available procedures. Through the use of these discovery procedures, and others available under Connecticut law, there are very few secrets or surprises in a civil lawsuit.  The most commonly used discovery procedures are:

 

Depositions - The taking, in question and answer form, of sworn, stenographically recorded testimony from any party or potential witness. Depositions may also be tape recorded and/or video recorded under some circumstances.

                  

Request for Production - A pleading identifying documents or other physical evidence a party is obliged to provide for inspection and copying by an opponent.

        

Interrogatories - Written questions sent to an opposing party which are answered in writing and under oath. Interrogatories are an alternative means to obtain the same kind of information available through deposition.

        

Independent Medical Examinations - When your claim involves issues relating to your physical or mental health, the opposing party has the right (with some limitations) to have you examined by a medical specialist whom they have selected.

        

        

            •    Pre-Trial Conference

 

When Discovery has been completed, the case can be scheduled for a Pre-Trial Conference.  At a Pre-Trial Conference a Judge will review the file and meet with the attorneys alone in chambers.  The Judge will discuss possible settlement options with the attorneys, but those recommendations are not binding on either party.  You will be required to come to the Courthouse on the day of your Pre-Trial Conference so that you may discuss your case with your attorney, but you will not be allowed in the Judge’s chambers during the actual conference.  If the parties are able to reach an agreement, the case will settle.  If the parties are not able to reach an agreement the case will be assigned a trial date.

 

 

            •    Trial        

        

Your case will usually be tried before a Superior Court Judge and a jury of six men and women.  The Judge is there to decide matters of law and to instruct the jury with reference to the law.  The jury is composed of people in every walk of life from the county where the case is filed. Their names are picked at random from the registered voters in the county. The function of the jury is to hear all of the testimony, including yours, the defendant’s, the doctors', and the witnesses'.  From this evidence they decide who is right and who is wrong in your case and they determine a fair amount of damages to award.

 

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              •    Post-Trial Motions

        

Whether you win or lose at trial, the case may not be concluded.  After a jury has rendered a verdict, the losing party has the right to file various motions with the Trial Judge challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, the legal rulings during trial, and the propriety of the jury's deliberations.  While it is not common, a Trial Judge has the authority to order a new trial if he/she believes a substantial mistake was made in the first trial.

        

           

            •    Appeal

    

The losing party may file an appeal of the Trial Court decision.  An appeal is not the time for either side to introduce new evidence, as the Appellate Court only has authority to review the evidence and the legal issues that were presented before the Trial Judge. The side that lost at trial has the heavy burden of proving that the Trial Judge made a serious legal error.