How to Improve Your Odds of Winning a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Personal injury lawsuits are notoriously time-consuming, frustrating, and difficult. Multiple hearings and proceedings lead up to the big trial, and the outcome of each one may influence your odds of success.
There is no single way to increase your odds of winning a personal injury lawsuit. Multiple strategies and tactics can be employed to increase your chances of success. The best way to improve your odds of winning depends on the nature of your case, the evidence, and how you prepare for trial. Perhaps one of the best ways to increase your chance of success is to hire an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer who can effectively strategize and advocate for your compensation.
While the following approaches may be useful to increase your odds of winning a personal injury lawsuit, they are not fool-proof and might not be effective for all cases. You should speak to a seasoned personal injury attorney about your case as soon as possible to get an idea of what you must do to prove your personal injury lawsuit and win.
Table of Contents
Using Evidence to Win Your Personal Injury Lawsuit
Arguably the most important part of your case is your evidence. A personal injury lawsuit cannot be won without evidence. Ideally, having a variety of strong pieces of evidence will increase your odds of success. Unfortunately, not everyone has a lot of strong evidence, so it is important to use what evidence you have strategically.
You should begin thinking about evidence as soon as you know you have a potential personal injury lawsuit on your hands. If possible, you should begin collecting evidence immediately. If you were injured in an accident, you should begin looking for evidence at the accident scene. One of the simplest ways to collect evidence is to take pictures and record videos immediately after your accident.
These recordings may preserve very important details, like people present at the scene, weather conditions, the location of the accident, and more. Photos and videos might also record pieces of physical evidence that you can try to track down later after speaking to an attorney.
There are plenty of reasons why a person cannot begin gathering evidence right away. Perhaps you were too badly injured and were rushed to the emergency room. If you are afraid that you have lost important evidence, you can still effectively strategize with what you have. Thinking outside the box is key to improving your odds of winning with scant evidence.
For example, you might not have any eyewitnesses who saw the accident. However, you might find other witnesses who saw the defendant drinking before the accident. This might help us prove the defendant caused the accident because they were intoxicated. Not all evidence comes directly from your accident or injuries. Instead, you must think outside the box about possible evidence you have not yet gathered.
Improving Your Odds of Winning a Case Through Legal Strategy
You can also improve your odds of winning a personal injury lawsuit by using effective legal strategies. For example, you can turn the tables in your favor by filing pretrial motions. A pretrial motion is filed with the court before your trial begins. There are numerous reasons for filing these motions, one of which is to exclude evidence.
When evidence is excluded, the judge blocks it from being admitted into court. Excluded evidence cannot be shown to a jury or even mentioned in court. You can block evidence if it violates laws or court rules pertaining to evidentiary standards. For example, evidence that is irrelevant, highly inflammatory, or was taken illegally can be barred. The idea is that you can often win your case by keeping out as much of your opponent’s evidence as possible.
You can also focus on undermining the evidence and witnesses against you. Evidence is not necessarily accurate or trustworthy simply because it meets evidentiary standards and is admissible in court. For example, if your opponent presents evidence that can not be verified as authentic (e.g., official documents, records, photographs), we can argue to the jury that the evidence cannot be trusted and should be disregarded.
Similarly, not all witnesses are trustworthy, and some might be less than honest on the witness stand. If we discover a reason a witness might have for lying, we can bring that up and make them appear less trustworthy, and the jury may be more likely to rule in your favor.
How Medical Treatment Can Help Improve Your Chances of Winning
Personal injury lawsuits often deal with bodily injuries and related damages. In such cases, it is important to get medical attention. You can increase your chances of winning your case by getting medical attention as early as possible and following up with your doctor often.
Your medical records can be used as evidence to prove the extent of your injuries and shed some light on the pain and suffering you endured. Getting medical attention immediately after your injuries helps keep your medical records as accurate as possible. Following up with your doctor multiple times in the weeks and months after your initial visit also helps keep your records up to date and makes your injuries harder to challenge in court.
Looking for the Right Lawyer to Help You Win a Personal Injury Case
One of the best ways to improve your odds of winning a personal injury lawsuit is to hire a skilled and experienced attorney. A personal injury lawyer can help you win their case because they have worked on personal injury lawsuits before and know how to navigate the complex legal processes. They also have the knowledge and training to make effective legal arguments and develop strategies based on your evidence.
Not all lawyers are the same. In your search, you might encounter attorneys with varying experience and qualifications. To increase your chances of success, you should look for an attorney with experience working on cases that are just like yours. For example, if you file a lawsuit after a car accident, you should look for experienced car accident attorneys. Maybe you want to file a product liability case. In that case, you should look for also lawyer working specifically on product liability cases. While general practitioners can be helpful, they might lack the specific skills and knowledge that can put your case over the edge.
