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Personal injury lawyer for wrongful death and dog bite in San Francisco |
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WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I WANT TO MAKE A WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIM?
FIRST: You make the call to the wrongful death attorney’s
office, likely a first for you. Tell them that you’d like to talk to a
lawyer about making a wrongful death claim or personal injury claim.
Also verify that there is no charge for such an initial consultation.
Look elsewhere if there is. You should be prepared to make an
appointment to go to the lawyer’s office. This is too important to try
to handle over the phone.
SECOND: You meet the lawyer. You definitely want to meet the
lawyer who would handle such an important issue for you. You can look
the lawyer in the eye and find out if you are comfortable with
him/her. YOUR FIRST QUESTION IS: DO YOU HAVE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST IF
YOU REPRESENT ME? After you’ve told the lawyer your whole story is a
bad time to discover that this firm represents the same corporation
you are suing.
THIRD: Do not be shy about politely asking the wrongful death
lawyer some important questions. How many years in practice? Is
wrongful death and personal injury his/her specialty? Will he/she be
the one who handles your case all the way through? Will less
experienced lawyers be doing things like motions and depositions
(sworn question & answers in lawyer’s office prior to trial)? Who will
be your primary contact: the primary lawyer, an assistant lawyer, a
paralegal, a secretary? Can you have the lawyer’s cell phone number?
Are you expected to advance any money for costs and expenses of
litigation? (The answer should be “No.”)
FOURTH: If you are still interested in dealing with this firm,
tell the lawyer your story. Factors that will bear on his/her decision
to represent you will include facts about the decedent’s life. Be
candid, and reveal even the warts as well as the good. How close was
this person to the family? How much did he/she earn? Who are the
decedent’s dependents, and what are their particular needs? How did
the death occur? Bring along any documents you have (police reports;
doctor’s or coroner’s reports describing injuries or cause of death;
letters from attorneys or insurance companies). Be sure you don’t give
up your only copies, until you make the decision to hire the lawyer.
FIFTH: The wrongful death lawyer should offer a written
contract. Read it before signing. Ask questions about any part you
don’t understand. One word of caution about shopping for a lawyer. If
you are commencing the search shortly after the accident (which you
should), time is a factor. Wrecked cars get crushed; skid marks are
washed away in the next rain; a construction site’s dangerous
condition can get paved over; witnesses can die or move away; holes in
the store’s floor can be repaired, etc. Try to schedule your
interviews in close succession so the process does not take weeks. If
you find a wrongful death attorney you feel comfortable with, take the
plunge.
SIXTH: You give the wrongful death lawyer written
authorizations to obtain private records and documents so he/she can
investigate your case and preserve evidence. Hopefully you did not
wait until 729 days after the accident (two years statute of
limitations in California and most other states). If a governmental
entity was any part of the fault, there is also a six month deadline
to make a claim, so don’t wait.
SEVENTH: The lawyer might feel there is a chance of settling
before suing, so he may delay filing suit. If he can’t settle, a
complaint is filed in court. Usually the lawyer signs this for you. He
takes care of having a process server serve the summons and complaint
on the defendants (the people at fault). You are the “Plaintiff,” the
person suing.
EIGHTH: "Discovery” commences. This means the exchange of
documents, information and testimony out of court. Either side can
send written questions (called “interrogatories”), a demand for
deposition testimony of witnesses or plaintiffs, or demands for
relevant documents, photos, etc. The other side may resist this, and
your lawyer may go to a judge on a “motion”, a request for a court
order that they comply with your lawyer’s requests. He/she may resist
THEIR requests for some of your personal records that have nothing to
do with the case. When your side’s employment or medical records are
sought, be up front to your attorney about anything likely to be in
there you think would be damaging or embarrassing, so he knows to
fight it.
NINTH: You will have to work with the wrongful death lawyer to
prepare responses to the interrogatories, and then swear in writing to
the accuracy of your responses (“Verification”). Important: when the
time comes for YOU to give oral testimony in deposition, you MUST meet
with the lawyer in advance for an hour or two to be prepared for your
testimony. There are a lot of “Do’s” and “Don’ts”. You might even want
to ask the lawyer in your first interview before hiring him/her how
long preparation for deposition testimony takes. You must be
THOROUGHLY prepared for this critical event. If the answer is “ten to
fifteen minutes,” that is a often a danger sign.
TENTH: All cases go in waves. There are periods of intense
activity, and then periods without a lot of activity. A lot of what
your lawyer does will not directly involve you, so you won’t even know
he or she is busy on your case. You should not be shy about calling
for updates if you have heard nothing in a long time.
ELEVENTH: Your wrongful death attorney will undoubtedly hire
experts to help him. These may be physicians, engineers, economists,
or accident reconstructionists. You may need to co operate with them
at your lawyer’s request.
TWELFTH: You may be ordered by the court to mediate or
arbitrate your case. Mediation is a meeting with the parties and
lawyers and one neutral mediator whose function is to try and settle
the case. He decides no issues or facts. He just tries to find a mid
ground for settlement. Arbitration is different. The arbitrator hears
evidence (usually in her office) and then renders a “verdict” as to
who wins, and if you win, how much. However, either side can reject
this decision and demand a trial with a jury. It is not necessarily a
waste of time though, since this process can result in narrowing the
gap in settlement positions. About two months before trial the defense
may also file a motion to have your case thrown out on legal grounds
(called a “summary judgment motion”) Your lawyer will be very busy on
this, and may need you to sign sworn declarations to combat this
motion. Do not be upset if one “cause of action” (a separate theory of
the case pleaded in one complaint) out of six gets dismissed. Your
lawyer might have included one that was a reach, while the others are
strong.
THIRTEENTH: If your case hasn’t settled yet, a “Pretrial” and a
trial date are set by the court. The Pretrial is another conference to
try and settle the case. This time the “mediator” is usually a judge,
though in some counties it may be a panel of lawyers. If you still
don’t settle, your lawyer and you will be preparing for trial, if you
haven’t started to do so already.
FOURTEENTH: Last minute discovery: depositions of experts. You
do not have to attend any depositions besides your own, but the
plaintiffs and defendants always have the right to do so. You will
again meet with the lawyer to prepare your trial participation. Yes,
it is likely you will have to be present the whole trial, unless your
health forbids it. You’ll have to arrange vacation time.
Unfortunately, sometimes the trial is then continued (postponed).
Sometimes this can’t be helped, and it does not suggest that your
lawyer was sleeping on the job. It’s just that court dockets are
crowded and it is hard for anyone to predict how long a trial will
take.
FIFTEENTH: The trial. It begins with legal motions between the
lawyers and the judge in the judge’s chambers. You are not present
then. Your lawyer will inform you of any rulings that affect the
evidence that will be allowed before the jury. (You must never mention
the defendant’s insurance in front of the jury, for example.) The jury
is selected. Most judges allow the lawyers to question the jurors to
find out their biases. They can then reject some without giving an
explanation. Twelve jurors and usually one or two alternate jurors
will be sworn, and all will listen to the evidence. You need nine out
of twelve to win. An alternate juror steps in if a juror gets sick or
otherwise can’t continue.
SIXTEENTH: After opening statements to the jury, your lawyer
begins calling witnesses and questioning them for the jury. The other
lawyer(s) then question them (cross examination). When your lawyer is
done calling all his witnesses to testify and offering all the
exhibits into evidence he/she wants, then he/she “rests” your case,
and the other side begins offering their witnesses and evidence. When
they “rest,” your lawyer may put on more (rebuttal) evidence to
contradict or explain defense evidence. Then comes closing arguments
by all the lawyers, and the judge instructs the jury as to the law
which controls your case.
SEVENTEENTH: At your trial, the judge makes all the decisions
of law. That is why he “instructs” the jury on the law. However, the
jury decides all the disputed “facts,” such as who was at fault,
whether you (or the decedent) were partially at fault too (which
reduces your award), and how much your case is worth.
EIGHTEENTH: Your case can settle at any time during trial. If
it happens at trial, it most often will be on the first day, sometimes
the second or third. Rarely, a case settles while the jury is secluded
in deliberations over your case.
NINETEENTH: The verdict. High tension time. If you win, the
defense may appeal the decision, which could cost you another year or
more before you see any money. Appeals, cost of litigation, strong or
weak witnesses, problems with shared fault, or insurance coverage
disputes are some of the hundreds of things that can affect the value
of your case. For this reason, it is important to select a lawyer with
experience and in whom you have confidence. You must be prepared to
trust your lawyer’s judgment on settlement. Remember, your lawyer gets
paid more if you get paid more. He/she gets nothing if you get
nothing. You must have a relationship of trust so that you will work
together at that crucial moment of truth.
TWENTIETH: Never, never display disagreement with your lawyer
in public, either before trial or during it. If the defense senses
dissension between you, it can hurt your case. Discuss any issues with
your lawyer privately. Be charming, polite and patient at all times
during trial. That includes in the parking lot, rest rooms, and halls.
Jurors like to pay people they like. They like to be stingy with
people they dislike. You must try to remember this while you are
testifying, and the defense lawyer is trying to provoke you into anger
in front of the jury.
No matter how awful the defendant was to you or your family member,
let your lawyer be the heavy. Don't do it yourself in your testimony.
Bad: "That son of a bitch was DRUNK and he KILLED MY WIFE!" Better:
"There is not a day I don't think of him running around free and still
drinking, while my wife is dead." Best: "Suffer? You could not imagine
how it feels when your three year old asks when mommy is coming home.
I'll never understand why he would have seven martinis and then get
behind the wheel." This is why your lawyer will (or should) spend
hours preparing you before you testify at trial."
PARTING THOUGHTS
Be aware that litigation is stressful for the plaintiff as well as the
person being sued. Resolve at the outset that it will take some
determination to see it through. Resist the temptation to compare your
case to others you’ve read or heard about: “My Aunt Betty’s lawyer got
her.” The truth is that no two cases are alike at all. If you are
reading this as if it were a guide on how to handle your own case,
don’t do it. Any wrongful death case probably will be vigorously
fought no matter what the evidence. You need an experienced lawyer’s
help.
One peculiar phenomenon that occurs with some frequency is that a
patient and co-operative client will suddenly balk at settling when
the time comes. Why? Because when one waits a long time for “justice”
and suddenly the end of the fight is close by, the plaintiff begins to
think: “What now? Now I just live the rest of my life with this loss?
No amount of compensation can be enough for this frightful prospect.”
This is most common in wrongful death litigation, when survivors allow
themselves to think of the settlement amount as the “value” of the
lost loved one. It isn’t. It could never be enough under that
standard. It’s just the amount of money that most juries in similar
cases have historically awarded. This is where trust in your wrongful
death attorney is important.
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information that it is hoped my be informative and educational. It
does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an
attorney-client relationship. No claim or warranty is made that any of
this information applies to your situation. You should NOT take this
information and attempt to use it in the place of proper legal
representation. This site also
contains communications from a member of the State Bar of California
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