When Will Your Personal Injury Case Go to Trial?
Posted Wednesday, March 4, 2015 by Chris Thayer
If you have been injured in an accident and have a claim pending, once it is clear that the defendant’s insurance company is unwilling to negotiate fair compensation you and your personal injury attorney in Seattle may decide to take the case to trial. A natural question for anyone in such a situation is when the case will actually be heard. Unfortunately, as will be seen, this is not an easy question to answer.
Factors Affecting When the Case Will Be Heard in Court
Your personal injury lawyers Seattle will explain the process to you, and give you a rough estimate of when you can expect the case to go to trial. In some cases it can take less than a year. However, in some jurisdictions the wait may be several years. The following factors will affect when your case will get before a jury:
- The number of judges that are available in your jurisdiction to hear personal injury trials.
- The number and types of cases already on the court calendar. It is important to keep in mind that certain criminal trials may take precedent, depending upon the nature of the court calendar in your jurisdiction.
- The availability of the lawyers involved. Lawyers typically work on a number of cases at once, and their own availability may be limited.
- Whether all the preliminary matters have been completed in your case, such as discovery, depositions, and interrogatories.
Get Ready and Wait
Generally speaking, your case will be placed on the court calendar months in advance of the actual trial. Therefore, you should have plenty of notice in order to be prepared. Indeed, a trial is sometimes delayed, perhaps several times, before it is actually heard. This is because the court calendars more cases than it can usually hear in a given month. Ultimately, for you this means that, as difficult as it may be, you will need to exercise patience.
What to Do if You Are Injured in an Accident
If another person or entity is at fault for an accident in which you were injured, you have a potential to be able to gain compensation. It is important to work with a personal injury attorney in Seattle, especially if your case goes to trial. Call Chris Thayer today to arrange a consultation at (206) 340-2008.