Assisting In Your Personal Injury Case
Posted on: 8 April 2018
If you've been hurt in a car wreck, you may be owed some monetary damages. The driver that caused the wreck acted carelessly, and you should not be inconvenienced by the financial impact of that wreck. In most cases, a personal injury attorney will be able to get you the money you need by taking charge of your case and ensuring that the insurance company does the right thing. While a large majority of cases do settle out of court, some end up going to trial. Read on to learn more about the vital part you will play if your case goes to trial.
Be prepared: The time between your wreck and your first day in court might be of several month's duration, making it difficult to remember important facts about your case. You will need to be able to speak with confidence about the case at several different times during this time period:
1. When you speak to your attorney for the first time.
2. When you and your attorney prepare your demand letter.
3. When you get deposed and participate in other pretrial preparation.
4. When you take the stand at your trial.
You can give your case a big boost by keeping up with the events of the wreck, your medical treatments and everything else that has happened by writing it down. A journal will show the sequence of events and allow you to refresh your memory as needed. Review it before each junction, particularly before you take the stand.
Tips for giving an accurate and confident testimony
While your attorney will prepare you as much as possible, you should also do your part by remembering the following guidance:
Be cool on the stand: The other side might try to confuse you or make you nervous with the way they ask questions. This is an attempt to get you to say something you didn't mean to say. Listen carefully to each question and take your time about answering it. If you need to have, the questioned repeated, request that of the judge. If you don't understand the question, ask for clarification before you answer. Pause a moment before answering the question to allow your own attorney time to object to any inappropriate query.
Listen and respond: Make sure you completely understand what is being asked before you speak. Sometimes questions from attorneys can be long and have multiple parts, so wait until the end of the question to answer. When you understand what is being asked, pause to gather your thoughts and answer only what was asked, nothing more. If the question can be answered with a "yes" or a "no," do so and let the attorney ask for more details.
Speak with your personal injury attorney to learn more.
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