Walpole, MA Personal Injury Lawyer

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Nobody plans to get hurt in their daily routine. Even people who work in more injury-prone jobs like construction, in a warehouse, or other hard-working jobs may not necessarily think about getting injured until it happens. Since injuries are often unexpected, the cost of treating those injuries and working towards recovery can come as a sudden expense, leaving many victims worried about what is going to happen next.

If you were hurt and need financial compensation, we are here to help. Our lawyers have handled many personal injury cases, so we know how to competently and effectively fight for you so that you stand the best chance of getting the financial compensation you deserve.

Contact the Law Office of John J. Sheehan by dialing (617) 925-6407 and speak to our personal injury attorneys today.

What Happens in Personal Injury Lawsuits in Walpole, MA

While most people are familiar to some degree with how lawyers operate at trial, the reality is that most of the legal work done in a lawsuit happens long before that point. In fact, most cases are resolved one way or another without ever going to trial. Our personal injury attorneys will be doing many different things to prepare your case and fight for you to get the compensation you deserve and, if need be, argue on your behalf at trial. Below, we will go through some of the important steps for personal injury lawsuits so that you have an understanding of what is going on.

Collecting Evidence and Discovery

One of the most important things to do when building a case is to start gathering evidence to support your claim. Evidence can come from a lot of different sources. Our lawyers can reach out to medical providers, police precincts, and eyewitnesses to get the information we need to build your case.

Some information will also come from opposing counsel through a process called “discovery.” Discovery is when attorneys on opposite sides of a case share information in order to ensure that there is an equal playing field and there are minimal surprises for either side at trial. This may sound strange if both sides are trying to “win” a case, but it is an important step in ensuring that justice is carried out properly. Of course, you do not have to turn over everything in discovery. Some information is protected by various privileges and can be withheld from the other side.

Depositions

Depositions are formal interviews, taken under oath, of people important to a legal matter. Witnesses, experts and you yourself will likely get deposed in a personal injury case, so it is good to have some idea of how the process works.

Depositions can happen anywhere, but they usually take place in an office setting. Present will be you, the opposing counsel, our lawyers, and a professional recorder to write down what is said – word for word. Opposing counsel will start by briefly explaining the process and asking simple questions to get you accustomed to it. However, the questions will quickly turn towards questions relevant to the case. Once opposing counsel feels that they have gotten enough information, our lawyers will “cross-examine” you and ask questions of our own.

During this whole process, it is important that you answer every question truthfully, even if you think the answer will hurt your case. Our lawyers can deal with so-called “bad facts.” It is much harder to deal with lying under oath in a deposition. If a question is very unfair or not relevant, our lawyers can object, and you will not have to answer it.

A single deposition can take all day, and depositions like this will take place for every person who may speak at trial. Moreover, parties may need to be deposed again if new information comes to light. It is not unusual for the deposition process to take several months or longer.

Settlement Offers

Many cases are resolved before trial through settlements – where both parties agree to certain terms and drop the dispute. Either side can offer to settle a case, and they may have different reasons for doing so. The decision to offer or accept a settlement offer involves much more than just guessing whether your case is stronger than the opposing counsel’s.

Remember, your goal is to “win,” and that means getting all the financial compensation you need. If you can get that compensation from a settlement offer, then you may want to consider accepting it. However, you always have the right to go to trial, and our lawyers will effectively represent you no matter what you choose.

Trial

A jury trial is the capstone on top of personal injury cases that make it to that point. It is the culmination of potentially years of hard legal work. At trial, both sides should more or less know what the other is going to do. All that remains is to present the jury with the evidence and legal arguments and have them decide the verdict under the law. Once all arguments have been heard and all evidence has been shown to the jury, the judge will instruct them on the relevant laws, and they will go to deliberate. When finished, the jury will render a verdict and decide whether the defendant is liable for your injuries or not. If they decide that the defendant is liable, The jury also decides how much you are awarded in damages if they find the defendant liable.

After trial, either side may appeal if they believe there is some error that affected the case. If the case makes it to an appeal, we can help you through the process whether you are the party appealing or defendant against an appeal by the defendant.