What Happens After You File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Indiana?

Once your personal injury attorney files a lawsuit for you in the Dyer, IN courts, the case goes to a formal litigation phase and follows the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure. Every case is unique, since a lot depends on the precise details of your case, but the following is the general process.

What Happens After Your Dyer, IN Personal Injury Attorney Files a Lawsuit

The Defendant Is Served

Once you file, the defendant you’re suing must be notified formally of the complaint against them. They have 30 days to file a response to this and either admit or deny your allegations. In their response, they can also lay out their defense. If they never respond, you can seek a default judgment, where the court looks at your evidence and makes a decision without the input of the defendant. This is quite rare, however.

The Discovery Phase

This phase of your case is usually the longest. During this time of preparation, both sides exchange information and build their cases. Both sides have to exchange information in good faith, and the point is to make the trial itself as streamlined as possible. Your lawyer will use this time to discover the strengths and weaknesses of the defendant’s case, and both sides will stipulate what facts they can agree to so those facts don’t need to be proven in court.

Settlement Negotiations

Before going to court, your lawyer will have tried to settle your personal injury claim. If you’re going to court, it means no settlement could be reached. But you can also continue to conduct negotiations throughout the trial period, and ultimately most personal injury cases do get settled before trial. As more information comes out in the discovery phase, this often helps with negotiations.

Pretrial Motions and Hearings

If there’s no settlement, either party can file motions with the court before the trial starts. Your lawyer might file a motion to exclude certain evidence, for example, or to limit expert testimony. There may also be hearings to give instructions to the jury or to set certain parameters for the trial itself.

Formal Trial

If your case is one of the small percentage that goes to trial, it could be decided by a judge alone or by a jury trial. The trial begins when both sides present their opening statements. Then each side will present their evidence and witnesses and give closing arguments. Either the judge or a jury will determine who is liable and what damages, if any, should be awarded.

Making Appeals

If either side believes a legal error has been made, they can make an appeal. This usually needs to be done within 30 days. Appeals can add a couple of years to the timeline, but you cannot appeal a decision just to go over the facts again. You have to be able to point to an actual legal error for the courts to consider an appeal.

Talk with a Dyer, IN Personal Injury Attorney

If you are considering a lawsuit, talk to us today at Tanzillo Stassin & Babcock, P.C. in Dyer for strategic guidance, trusted counsel, and solid results.

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