After you have been injured by someone else’s actions or negligence, what happens next can be confusing. You may be dealing with insurance agents looking for any reason to withhold the compensation you deserve. On top of that, you may be unable to work due to your injury — not to mention the complicated legal process of filing a lawsuit.
At Steinger, Greene & Feiner, our team of personal injury lawyers in Miami is here to help simplify the entire process. Our goal is to guide you through the process so you can focus more on moving forward with your life.
Even so, it’s important for you to understand your Florida personal injury case timeline so you know what to expect:
1. Find a Personal Injury Lawyer in Miami
Once you have sought medical attention, you need to also seek out a lawyer you can trust. You should choose a lawyer who has vast experience handling your type of injury successfully. The good news is, most personal injury lawyers worth their salt offer free consultations. During your consultation, they will review your case and help you determine if you would have a successful lawsuit.
More importantly, this consultation helps you determine if the lawyer is right for you. If you don’t like what they say or how they say it, you are always free to take their advice and shop around for another personal injury lawyer in Miami.
2. Let Your Lawyer Take Over
Once you’ve chosen a lawyer, they will start the legal process. The first step is to gather evidence to support your case. Your lawyer will use any photos you took of the accident scene, as well as your medical records and other documents, to show how much you are owed. In addition, they may speak to experts to determine how much psychological trauma and other intangible damage you suffered.
Once your case is built, your attorney will meet with the other party’s insurance company representatives to negotiate a settlement. Our attorneys prefer settlements because they’re usually quicker than going to trial. However, if the other side refuses to offer fair compensation, we’re more than willing and able to take your case to trial.
3. Pulling Out the Big Guns
If the other side refuses to cooperate and offer a good settlement amount, it’s time to take your case to court. Under Florida law, you have four years from the date of the injury to file the lawsuit (except in cases of wrongful death, medical malpractice and other specific cases in which you have two years). As such, you will want to start the process much sooner so your lawyer has the time to complete the above steps.
Once the lawsuit has been filed, the discovery process will begin. During this process, each side will get to look at evidence gathered by the other side, depose witnesses and experts, and generally get to know the entire case from both angles.
After discovery, mediation and negotiations may begin again. This allows both sides to re-enter the process with new information, which may convince the other side to offer a much more substantial settlement. However, if the other side still won’t budge, the case will go to trial.
During the trial, our personal injury lawyers in Miami will use evidence, expert witness, and other techniques to show that the other person was at fault for your injuries, and you, therefore, deserve compensation. Note that a settlement may be reached out of court before the trial concludes.
In total, the process can take anywhere from one to three years, sometimes longer depending on the complexity of the case and court’s caseload. Of course, if your case is settled out of court, it will probably be a much shorter process.
Speak to a Miami Personal Injury Lawyer Today
The process of seeking compensation after you’ve been injured is complicated, but you don’t have to face it alone. At Steinger, Greene & Feiner, our attorneys have won over $1 BILLION in compensation for our clients. To learn about your legal options and how much we can get you, call us at 800-560-5059 or contact us online today for a free, no-obligation consultation with our team of personal injury lawyers in Miami.