Clients pursuing a claim for personal injuries need to be prepared to have their lives put under a microscope, where any communication or record could eventually be blown up on TVs and projectors throughout a courtroom.  So before a lawsuit is even filed, all relevant information and documents must be gathered and reviewed.

Even before an accident, records and information have been saved that will be critical in evaluating a claim.  Common sources of information relevant to a personal injury claim include social media posts, journals, medical records, accident reports, wage records, tax documents, text messages, emails, photos, and cell phone videos.  Those documents and reports created in the minutes, hours, and days following an accident are especially important.

The more thorough this initial document review, the better foundation your attorneys can establish for your case.

Maximum Medical Improvement (“M.M.I.”) is the point in a client’s recovery where their condition is not likely to improve by additional treatment, surgeries, or other types of therapy – a point where the client’s condition has plateaued.  Sometimes this is back to 100%, but the severity of the injury may prevent a full recovery.

Ideally, before filing a lawsuit, the medical professionals overseeing the recovery will need to determine whether the client has reached M.M.I. and whether there are any permanent disabilities – which are often quantified by assigning what is called an “impairment rating.”

Once a client has reached M.M.I.,  damages caused by the injury are more easy to quantify, including past and future medical bills.  Trying to resolve a claim too quickly can be problematic because there are simply too many unknowns, including whether all symptoms have been resolved and whether there can be a full recovery.

Filing a lawsuit is the formal process of presenting your side of events and your claims to a court.  In Wyoming, that might be to a small claims court, a circuit court, or a district court.  In some instances, a client might also have the option to bring a claim in federal district court.

Most commonly, an incident causing serious injury would be filed in the district court in the county where the incident occurred.  Once a complaint is filed with the court, the opposing side has a certain number of days within which it must file an answer asserting any defenses for why the claims should be rejected.

“Discovery” is the word lawyers use to describe the investigative process of gathering information.  There are a number of tools available to help gather all the information relevant to your case.  Among those are:

• Written Interrogatories (questions to the other side about their positions and the information they have in their possession);
• Written Requests for Productions (demands that the other side provide documents, records, and other tangible things in their possession);
• Written Requests for Admissions (requests that the opposing side either admit or deny specific facts);
• Subpoenas (written requests to a non-party for the information they may have relevant to the case);
• Depositions (formal witnesses interviews taken under oath before a court reporter)

The purpose of discovery is to avoid “trial by ambush” and to give both sides a full opportunity to understand all the facts before a single document is shown to a jury.

Experts are those individuals whose knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education gives them a specialized knowledge that will help a jury to understand the evidence that was collected throughout discovery.  Sometimes experts can be a direct witness or party to the case, but they are more often specially retained witnesses used to analyze the information available.  Such experts will typically prepare an expert report that formalizes their opinions.  A typical motor vehicle collision, for example, might involve the following types of experts:

• accident reconstruction engineers;
• economists (used to quantify how much the person was harmed);
• medical professionals;
• life care planners;
• vocational rehabilitation specialists; and
• individuals with expertise relating to driving standards.

Some areas are so technical that without an expert it may become very difficult to prove your case.  While there is certainly an expense to it, pulling together a strong team of supporting experts is an essential step in preparing your case for trial.

The most common type of dispositive motion is called a “motion for summary judgment.”  In some cases, a lawyer will file a motion for summary judgment asking the judge to decide the case without any further process or delay.

To win a motion for summary judgment, it must be shown that no significant (or “material”) facts are in dispute, and under those facts a party wins as a matter of law.  In other words, the party filing the motion argues to the judge that there is no issue for a jury to decide because all facts are known and agreed upon.  The Party then must demonstrate that even if the Court gives the other side all favorable inferences that might be drawn from those facts, the opposing side would still lose under the law.

Dispositive motions are unlikely to be granted if there are strong factual disputes as to what happened; especially when both sides have strong witnesses or evidence supporting their perception of the facts.

The attorneys at Walker Law Firm of Cache Valley always prepare as if every case will be going to trial.  That said, a fair result at a mediation can have certain advantages over an excellent result at trial.  For example, a client might avoid the risk of an adverse decision at trial and might also make up the difference by what is saved on attorneys fees, expert fees, and other related costs.  Also, there is certainly a benefit to having a matter resolved now versus the stress of waiting for a conclusion that may still be years in the future.

Our firm routinely works with mediators throughout the Rocky Mountain region, and have worked hard to build a reputation as reasonable, reliable counselors throughout the mediation process.  Mediation might not be the right route for every case, but it is an option that should always at least be considered.

Our firm begins preparing for trial the day we are engaged to represent you.  All the steps outlined above are critical in building a foundation for the presentation of your case to a jury (or sometimes a judge).  Depending on the complexity of your case, the trial could be anywhere from a few days to many weeks.  Additionally, depending on the court, it will typically take a year or more before the court has available openings in its calendar to hear the case.  During the trial it is likely you, your experts, and any witnesses will testify.  The opposing party will have an opportunity to cross examine any witness called, and then will have the opportunity to present its own witnesses, who will also be subject to cross examination.  After closing statements, the jury (or judge) will consider the evidence presented and generally decide (1) who was at fault (and often what percentage of fault to be assigned) and (2) the amount of damages sustained.

After the trial, both sides can then appeal an adverse decision to the Wyoming Supreme Court.