There are many things an attorney considers when getting ready to file a lawsuit, and that is especially true for personal injury cases. To go in depth could take hours for someone to read, so a few basic tips are below to help understand a little of what an attorney, like an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, has to think about for filing.
General Guidelines
Rules vary according to the type of case and where the claim is filed. For instance, certain rules are different between State Court, Superior Court, and Federal Court – all courts where a Plaintiff may be able to file their case. In Georgia, a victim/plaintiff can file their case in:
- The county where the defendant resides, or
- The place where the accident or other event occurred.
These guidelines can get confusing when there is more than one defendant, which is nearly always the case in situations like products liability cases for medical devices, dangerous drug cases, and asbestos cases. Moreover, in many of these scenarios, the harm was caused in more than one place.
These considerations also apply to personal injury cases. It can get even more confusing if the defendant is not from the same state. For example, a tortfeasor (negligent driver) may be from Tennessee and get drunk in a bar in County A in Georgia, cross the county line in their pickup, and collide with the victim in County B, also in Georgia. Or, the victim may live in County A, but the accident took place in County B. The proper place to file (called Venue) can sometimes be difficult to pin down. A good attorney can go over the facts of the case and know where to file almost immediately.
Some Factors to Consider
A case is decided by a jury of your peers, so knowing who will make up the jury is vital to a case’s ultimate verdict. The best attorneys consider jury pools when filing as well, since jury composition varies from county to county. For example, certain counties that are possible for Venue have a higher concentration of people who vote for policies that protect insurance companies and make it difficult for a plaintiff to collect their proper compensation. Factors like these are important, because when an attorney assesses a case’s value, the lawyer must consider how a jury will react to the facts, the law, the parties, and the witnesses.
Choosing the right place to file can make all the difference in getting the right compensation for an injury, and the best attorneys know where to file just as much as whom to file against.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Butler Tobin for their insight into filing a lawsuit.