Once you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) for your accident injuries, your attorney is likely to submit a demand letter to the insurance company providing coverage to the person at-fault for causing your accident injuries. The demand letter will detail what happened in the accident itself, your injuries, your medical treatment for your injuries, and how the accident and your injuries impacted your life. The demand letter will also state a proposed settlement amount to the insurance company. This will often be the start of back and forth negotiations between your attorney and the insurance company in the hopes of reaching an acceptable settlement amount that takes into account the full extent of the damages you sustained in the accident.
Sometimes, an insurance company will accept the initial settlement offer, but more often a settlement will be reached through negotiation. If the insurance company denies your claim entirely or refuses to offer a reasonable settlement amount, your attorney may decide that filing a lawsuit and entering the litigation phase is the best course of action to get you the money you deserve for the harm you have suffered. While there is still some chance that the insurance company and your attorney will reach a settlement prior to trial, there are some instances where a claim will proceed to trial. One of the critical parts of a trial is voir dire, or jury selection.
Jury Selection and Your Personal Injury Case
Jury selection begins when a pool of potential jurors is pulled from a larger pool of people summoned for jury duty. The judge will begin jury selection by explaining why the potential jurors are there and what the process will look like. Furthermore, the judge will ask if there is any reason any of the jury pool members would be unable to serve. If provided with a valid reason for not being able to serve, the potential juror will be dismissed.
The attorneys for both sides will also have the opportunity to address the jury pool and pose questions to them. These questions are intended to uncover potential biases that jury pool members may harbor. Both the plaintiff and defense are entitled to dismiss a certain amount of jurors that they feel have biases and preferences that may be unfavorable to their client and their cases.
Jury selection can play a pivotal role in a trial. While jurors are supposed to be unbiased in their assessment of the case presented at trial. It is somewhat unavoidable or inevitable for certain personal preferences and personality types to have an impact on what a person thinks of a case being presented. The jury is the group of people that will decide whether or not you have a valid personal injury claim, whether the defendant is responsible for paying out on that claim, and how much should be paid out on your claim. Thus, the significance of jury selection and who ends up on the jury cannot really be understated.
Personal Injury Attorney
The Law Office of Bryce Cook is committed to excellence in every stage of the personal injury claims process. Should your claim go to trial, we will draw on our extensive experience and knowledge to best represent you and fight for your right to full and fair compensation. Contact the Law Offices of Bryce Cook today.