Personal Injury Lawsuit Process

Most cases begin by working with an insurance company, and then end in one of two ways: a settlement or a judge or jury’s decision following a trial. However, despite the standardized personal injury lawsuit process, an experienced Wisconsin personal injury lawyer will base your strategies and requests for compensation upon your specific injuries. Your unique experience matters. It will guide the amount of compensation you need, how you handle settlement negotiations, and your strategy if your case moves forward with trial.

With offices in Plover and Marshfield, Studinski Law, LLC assistes injured clients all across Wisconsin, including Wisconsin Rapids, Stevens Point, and Waupaca. To learn more about what to expect from the personal injury legal process, do not hesitate to reach out to Studinski Law, LLC. We have years of experience and can guide you through this journey with compassion. It is our job to tirelessly work for you to gain the compensation you need to move forward with life. We use aggressive and innovative techniques to help you obtain fair compensation.

The Personal Injury Lawsuit Process

Once you have been injured by someone else, you have likely already begun the personal injury lawsuit process. Knowing you may have a legal claim should push you forward to:

• Notify the insurance company
  If you were hurt in an accident caused by another individual’s carelessness or recklessness, your first option is to turn to the responsible person’s insurance company. It rests on your shoulders to notify the insurer of the accident, your injuries, and a forthcoming claim. Many personal injury claims are settled by the individual’s insurance carrier. However, it can take years to reach a fair agreement. It is also possible that the insurer will fight your claim, attempting to deny responsibility or make lowball offers. These risks are why it is best to work with an experienced Wisconsin personal injury lawyer.
• Hire an attorney
  Once you have been injured and notified the relevant insurance company about the accident, then your next step should be to find an attorney. Insurers do not always play fair. Their main goal is to save themselves money, which means they will hunt for reasons to deny your claim or limit your compensation. A lawyer can protect you from an insurer’s bad faith or aggressive practices and seek to protect your rights and obtain the maximum compensation for your injuries.
• Gather evidence to support your claim
  While the insurance company will conduct its own investigation into the accident, your attorney can investigate independently on your behalf. Your attorney may find evidence the insurance company overlooks or may view evidence in a different light than the insurer. This can help you build a stronger case or better address weaknesses.
• Attempt to negotiate a personal injury claim settlement
  Once the insurer and your attorney have had time to investigate the accident, you may receive a settlement offer. The first offer from an insurance company is often low and there is usually considerable room to negotiate for a higher amount.
• Consider mediation
  If you and the insurance company do not see eye-to-eye right away on a settlement amount, you or the insurer may request mediation. This is a type of alternative dispute resolution and is not a trial. You and your attorney and the insurer’s representatives will meet with a neutral third party in one or multiple sessions. The mediator does not make any decisions and is only there to guide the discussion. During these sessions, each side presents their arguments until a settlement agreement is reached – or not.
• Filing a personal injury lawsuit
  The appropriate time to file a personal injury lawsuit depends on your exact circumstances. In some situations, your attorney will advise filing the suit if settlement negotiations fail. However, your lawyer may recommend filing the lawsuit earlier, such as during the claim investigation, because the legal discovery process can enable you to gather more information. Filing suit can enable you to learn more about what caused the accident, which may bolster your claim for compensation.
• Utilize the discovery process
  After you file a personal injury lawsuit, you and the defendant, which will be the responsible individual represented by the insurance company, have the opportunity to utilize the discovery process to gather evidence. During discovery, each side can ask the other to answer questions, provide records, and give depositions. This may provide you information that supports your claim, prove the other individual’s fault, and enable you to ask for a greater amount of compensation.
• Continue settlement negotiations
  Filing a personal injury claim lawsuit does not mean your case will go to trial. Settlement negotiations can continue until the time of the jury’s verdict and ultimately, most personal injury claims settle short of trial.
• Go to trial
  If you and the insurer do not come to an agreement, then you and your attorney may decide to proceed with trial. By trial arrives, you will be thoroughly prepared. You and your attorney will have thoroughly investigated your situation, hired expert witnesses to testify on your behalf, and prepared the case. While the trial may be a new experience, none of the information presented should come as a surprise. Once your attorney and the defendant have presented all of their evidence and closed their cases, then the judge or jury will deliberate and decide your case.

Our Wisconsin Lawyers Can Help You File a Personal Injury Claim

Suffering injuries because of another person’s carelessness, recklessness, or intentional wrongdoing puts you in an awful physical, emotional, and financial position. Because of another person’s actions, you may have to spend weeks or months healing, being away from work, and facing mounting medical bills. Yet there is help available. By working with our skilled personal injury lawyers at Studinski Law, LLC, you can seek to obtain:

• Medical Expenses
• Wage Loss
• Pain and Suffering
• Emotional Distress and Mental Anguish
• Disability
• Disfigurement
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life
• Loss of Earning Capacity
• Loss of Society and Companionship

We want to assist you in recovering the compensation you need. Call us today at (715) 343-2850 to schedule an initial consultation. We will listen to your side of the story and determine the best way we can help. We serve clients in Wood County, Portage County, Waupaca County, Marathon County, and surrounding areas.