What To Expect After Hiring Hawthorne Personal Injury Lawyers

Many people in Hawthorne today understand the importance of hiring a personal injury attorney after an accident or other event. What many individuals do not know is what to expect after starting legal action with a lawyer. Clients of personal injury lawyers will likely go through several stages after filing a lawsuit.

Examinations and Paperwork

Medical examinations and paperwork are the first two things to expect. It might be necessary to have several medical examinations by different doctors and specialists in order to gather the paperwork necessary for the case. Additionally, filing a personal injury lawsuit requires large amounts of paperwork. A good Hawthorne lawyer will handle most of the paperwork. Injured clients should still expect to have to review some paperwork and to produce documents like a written statement or response.

Depositions

Depositions will be necessary as the legal action moves forward. Depositions involve sitting in a room with a court reporter and a camera. Lawyers for all involved parties can then ask questions that must be answered. Depositions can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Although depositions are not technically testimony, they are equally as important. Attorneys in Hawthorne will help clients prepare for the deposition process.

Potential Settlements

After depositions, discovery and medical examinations, the other party might want to settle. A settlement means the other party is willing to pay all or part of the compensation requested in the lawsuit. This sometimes occurs when evidence overwhelmingly points to the liability of the other party. Settlements are an easy way to avoid going through a trial. Not all cases involve settlement offers.

Trial Preparation

If a settlement is not reached, then personal injury victims will be prepared for trial by the attorney in Hawthorne. Trial preparation usually involves going over testimony to make sure it is presented clearly and consistently for the court. It also usually involves going over court procedures and rules so that no surprises occur. Trial preparation can be intense especially when recovering from a personal injury.

Trial Testimony

Clients must be prepared to sit through a trial that could last a few days, a few weeks or a few months. Most attorneys in Hawthorne will need the client to testify during trial. Lawyers for all parties will ask questions. Testifying can be very stressful. Opposing lawyers might attempt to use tricks or semantics to try to disqualify testimony or create doubt. Skilled personal injury attorneys will try to protect clients on the stand.

It is important to remember that experienced Hawthorne personal injury lawyers have been through the entire process repeatedly with different clients. The advice they offer during legal action is intended to help and is based on experience even though it might seem counterintuitive. Personal injury victims should always trust the advice of counsel.