What to Know About Going to Court for a Car Accident Case

Most car accident cases get resolved outside of the courtroom. Why? In many car accident personal injury claims, your attorney will be able to come to a fair agreement with the at-fault party’s insurance company on your behalf. This is known as a settlement. However, in some instances, the insurance company may refuse to offer a fair amount. When a fair agreement cannot be reached, your legal team may recommend going to trial. This is why it’s important to hire an attorney who is prepared and willing to take your case to trial.

This article will discuss what you need to know about going to court for a car accident. If you have any questions about the content of this article or if you’ve been in an accident and are looking for assistance, reach out to the team at Cavanaugh & Thickens, LLC today. We are available 24/7 at (803) 888-2200 and are here to help.

Key Takeaways

1. Car accident cases usually go to court when claims are wrongly denied, the accident resulted in serious injury or wrongful death, there are disputes over who was at-fault, there is disagreement over case values, or other complications.
2. There are many pros and cons to taking a car accident case to trial.
3. Some attorneys won’t take your case to trial, even if it’s in your best interest – hiring a lawyer who is willing to fight for you in court is important.
4. There are many benefits to hiring an experienced accident attorney, especially if your case goes to trial.

In This Article:

• Why Some Car Accident Cases Go To Court
• The Pros and Cons of Going to Trial for a Car Accident
• What Happens If You Go To Court for a Car Accident?
• How a Lawyer Can Help 
• Speak With an Award-Winning Car Accident Lawyer

Why Some Car Accident Cases Go To Court

Not every car accident case will go to trial. In fact, most cases are settled outside of court. 

However, your case may go to trial if:

• The parties disagree on the monetary value of the case
• Your claim was wrongly denied
• The insurance company refuses to offer a fair amount
• The accident resulted in serious injury and the parties cannot agree on a fair settlement amount
• The accident resulted in death and the parties cannot agree on a fair settlement amount
• There’s a disagreement over who was at-fault for the accident
• Multiple parties were involved in the accident
• The accident involved a drunk or intoxicated driver
• The accident involved a commercial vehicle, like a tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler, or other truck

While these are a few common examples of instances that may result in your case going to trial, there are other reasons why your case may go to trial. Your lawyer should help you understand your options based on state law, their experience, the specifics of your case, your damages, and more.

Pros and Cons of Going to Trial for a Car Accident

Generally, there are many pros and cons to taking a car accident case to trial. 

An experienced attorney will be able to walk you through the specifics of your accident and how those intricacies may impact your case in court. 

Note: Some car accident lawyers are very reluctant to go to trial. It’s important that you hire someone who is willing to go to court for you as needed. Our South Carolina car accident attorneys have the experience and resources needed to fight for you in court. Simply call our office at (803) 888-2200 to speak with a reputable trial attorney today. 

What Happens If You Go To Court for a Car Accident?

Let’s say that your legal team has gone back and forth with the insurance company and they cannot reach a fair agreement, even after filing a lawsuit and going through the discovery process. What happens next?

In some cases, prior to trial, your case may go through a formal, alternative dispute resolution like mediation, where an independent third party tries to help both parties come to a fair agreement. Negotiations between your legal team and the defense will often continue until trial begins.

If your case makes it to the courtroom, you can expect the following:

Jury Qualification and Selection – Depending on the county, your lawyer and the other side’s legal team will generally narrow down a large pool of potential jurors to a panel of 12 jurors. There are also typically alternate jurors who sit with the jury during trial and can step in to serve during deliberations if a juror is disqualified or otherwise unable to deliberate. Juror Qualifications are led by the Court and are to determine whether or not potential jurors qualify to serve on the jury.  

After the jury pool is narrowed down to qualified jurors, they are then led through voir dire. Voir dire is typically led by the Judge in South Carolina, but lawyers are given the opportunity to present questions they would like the Judge to ask the potential jurors. The questions are designed to identify jurors who are unable to be fair to one side. From the qualified jurors, the Court typically randomly selects 20 jurors. After the 20 jurors are selected, both the plaintiff and defendant are given “strikes” and they are able to choose (typically 3 each) which jurors they would like to strike off of the final jury. Once the jury is seated, opening statements begin.  

Opening Statements – After selecting the jury, both sides will present an opening statement. Opening statements are generally designed to give a jury an introduction to the case and an overview of what evidence the jury will see.

Plaintiff’s Case – In a civil case, the Plaintiff has the burden of proof and, as a result, presents their case first. Prior to the trial, Plaintiff’s counsel will have come up with a game plan for presenting their case, including which witnesses to call and in what order, what documents, videos, photographs, reports and other items it would like to be admitted into evidence and which witnesses will be able to testify to those such that they can be admitted into evidence. Your attorney will work to effectively communicate your physical, financial, and emotional damages resulting from the accident and how those have impacted your life through fact and expert witnesses. After Plaintiff’s counsel is finished with their direct examination of a witness, defense counsel has the opportunity to cross examine each witness. Once the Plaintiff has finished, or rested, their case, the defense has an opportunity to present their case in defense.

Defense’s Case – Similar to the Plaintiff’s case, the defendant’s counsel also has an opportunity to present any witnesses and evidence relevant for the defense of the case.

Closing Arguments – After both sides have presented their evidence and their case, they will make their closing arguments. The attorneys will tie together the evidence they presented, arguing who was at fault for the accident, and calling for what they believe to be a fair outcome.

Jury Instructions – In South Carolina, some judges prefer to give jury instructions prior to closing arguments, while some wait until after closing arguments. During jury instructions, the trial judge instructs the jury on the applicable laws that they will apply the facts of the case to reach their verdict.

Jury Verdict – Lastly, the jury will get together to deliberate and reach a decision, known as a judgement. They will decide who was at-fault and how much compensation you should receive for your injuries and other damages. This could take hours or even days. During the deliberations, the jury is permitted to ask questions that the judge may or may not answer, depending on whether the requested information is relevant or in evidence.  

Note: In South Carolina, who is found at-fault and their percentage of fault directly determines how much compensation you can recover, this is known as modified comparative negligence. 

How a Lawyer Can Help You and Your Case

There are many benefits to hiring an experienced car accident attorney to represent you following an unexpected accident. No matter what stage you’re in, it’s important to keep in mind that you are going up against a powerful insurance company that has trained people to limit and deny claims, even fair ones. We fight to get our clients the best outcome possible for their case and future every single day – it’s what we do. 

With Cavanaugh & Thickens, LLC on your side, you can expect our team to:

• Use our decades of combined experience and history of results for clients to fairly value your claim based on all past, present, and future damages associated with the accident.
• Use our prior knowledge from defending insurance companies to aggressively negotiate on your behalf.
• Conduct a thorough investigation into your accident to prove who was at fault and therefore liable for your compensation.
• Fight for you in court should a fair settlement not be reached.

Throughout the process, we prepare your case for court in the instance that doing so is in your best interest. When and if that happens, we will prepare you for trial and walk you through the process so you can focus on healing and moving forward.

Speak With an Award-Winning Car Accident Attorney Today

Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for injured clients throughout the state of South Carolina. With hundreds of 5-star reviews and a team of award-winning car accident attorneys, you can trust that our team will have your back throughout your case and beyond.

To speak with a lawyer for free today, simply call our office at (803) 888-2200 or complete our online contact form and a member of our team will be in touch with you shortly. We look forward to listening to you. 

Author: Joseph O. Thickens