Question: If I hire a Rhode Island personal injury attorney, how does the process work?

Answer: You should retain a RI personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after the automobile (car) accident, slip and fall or other accident. At the first meeting, the attorney typically will get all the important information concerning the accident including, but not limited to, the names of the witnesses, all injuries and the treating physician and doctors.

Your lawyers may want to visit the actual scene of the accident or slip and fall so that he can get further prospective on how the accident occurred. If the case is a slip and fall case, the lawyer should visit the scene of the accident if possible and interview potential witnesses. If you have any pictures of the accident scene, your damaged automobile, or of the resulting injuries, it is usually a good idea to show those to the lawyer.

If your lawyer is interested in taking the case, he or she will typically enter into a contingent fee personal injury fee agreement with you. You will need to provide a list of the names and addresses of all witnesses. Your lawyer will also ask you for the names and addresses of all treating physicians and the names and addresses of all hospitals and treating facilities. The lawyer will ask you to sign medical releases pursuant to federal law which will allow your lawyer to collect your medical bills and medical records from your health care provider concerning your injury.

The attorney will be very interested in knowing whether or not you have health insurance and the extent of your health insurance coverage. If your health insurance plan is covering your medical bills, they typically have a lien against any settlement proceeds you receive. It is necessary for your lawyer on your behalf to repay your health insurance company from the proceeds of any settlement or verdict that you receive. These liens typically can be negotiated with the health insurance company. Some insurance companies will typically lower their lien 25% to 33% to account for the work that your attorney has done on the case.

Sometimes, if liability or damage are in dispute, you can get a further reduction of the lien. Typically your lawyer will not be able to disburse any monies to you until he has paid the insurance company for the lien amount.

After the initial consultation and after you have retained the personal injury lawyer, the lawyer will typically do an investigation, if necessary, by calling witnesses, reviewing police reports, or doing anything else that is necessary to further your case. The attorney may need to read relevant Rhode Island negligence case law to evaluate the merits of your perspnal injury case. The attorney will collect your medical records and billing records. Obtaining your billing records for the accident from the medical providers is extremely important because the amount of medical bills that you have is a very important factor in determining the ultimate value of your case for settlement or trial purposes.

Your attorney typically will wait until he/she believes that you have reached a certain point in your medical treatment before he makes an offer to the insurance company to settle your personal injury case. Attorneys are typically concerned that they will settle the case prior to knowing the full extent of a person's injuries. After an automobile accident case is settled and the release is signed, there is no way to get paid any further damages even if your injuries become substantially more severe. Therefore, it is usually not a good idea to settle the personal injury case prior to having some idea as to the extent of your injuries in the future. Your back, neck, shoulder or leg injury could get worse as time goes bye.

After the lawyer meets with you, he will typically send a letter of representation to all the insurance companies involved giving them general information about the case. The insurance company will open up a personal injury case file and respond to your attorney. Insurance companies are required by law to investigate the facts and look into the potential personal injury cause of action. When the attorney is comfortable that the right time has arrived, he or she will typically send a settlement package to the insurance company. This settlement letter usually includes an evaluation of the permanency of the injury, if any, and describes the pain and suffering of the client as well as any lost wages and medical bills incurred. The attorney typically includes in the settlement package an initial demand for settlement of the case.

The insurance company will usually reply to the letter with either an offer to settle the case or a denial of liability. If the insurance company is denying liability in the persoanl injury case and refusing to pay anything, then the attorney will have no choice but to file a lawsuit to seek damages. In the event that a settlement offer is made to the attorney, there usually will be a period of negotiation to see if the parties can agree to a settlement amount.

If the parties cannot agree to a settlement amount, it may be necessary to file a personal injury/ negligence law suit in either any of the Rhode Island District Courts or Rhode Island Superior Court. In Rhode Island (RI), most personal injury, automobile (auto)accident, premises liability and slip and fall cases are handled in Rhode Island Superior Court because matters over $10,000.00 in Rhode Island must be heard in Superior Court.

Question: My Rhode Island personal injury attorney is unable to settle my car accident case with the insurance adjuster, then what happens next?

Answer: If the attorney is unable to settle the case with the insurance adjuster, then it is necessary to file a lawsuit in court. The process of a Rhode Island personal injury civil lawsuit can take up to a few years to resolve. Your lawyer will file a complaint in court alleging negligence or other causes of action asking the court to award you damages. After the complaint is filed, the insurance company will typically hire an attorney to represent their insured. The insurance company's lawyer will file an answer to the case.

After the complaint and answer are filed, there is usually a discovery period. The parties can send interrogatories to each other which are written questions that the other party must answer. The parties can also take depositions of witnesses which is when the other lawyer asks you questions about the case in front of a stenographer. After the discovery period, there may be a motion to dismiss or motions for summary judgment that are filed by either of the parties.

If the case is not dismissed or summarily decided, then the case will proceed to trial. The average amount of time for a law suit in Rhode Island is about two years, although the amount of time for the law suit could vary depending on how complex the case is, availability of witnesses, and the amount of cases on the docket.