FILING
A LAWSUIT
If pre-litigation settlement is not possible, a lawsuit may be necessary to
resolve your claim. A lawsuit is a
lengthy and complicated legal process culminating in settlement or a trial.
If the insurance company refuses to voluntarily settle the claim the only
avenue left is to have a jury decide the case and have a judge force the
defendant to pay. Also a lawsuit forces the insurance company to reevaluate a
case and thereby renews the opportunity for a settlement.
The majority of personal injury lawsuits are filed in the Circuit Court of Cook
County in the Daley Center. In
order to file a lawsuit a complaint must be filed.
A complaint is a specialized legal document in which the facts are stated
and the violations of duty, or negligence of the defendant is alleged.
All of the Rules of the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Code of
Civil Procedure must be adhered to strictly in order to properly represent the
interest of the injured person. Once
the complaint is prepared it is taken to the Daley Center to be filed.
At the Daley Center the Clerk of the Circuit Court assigns a case number and
courtroom. The Clerk’s office
charges approximately $220.00 for this service.
The person filing the suit is called the plaintiff and the person being
sued is called the defendant.
The courtroom assigned will depend on the value of the case.
If the medical bills indicate that it is very likely that the jury will
award an amount over $50,000 or if there is indication of a permanent injury the
case will be assigned to the Law Division.
If the value of the case is less than $50,000 the case will be assigned
to the Municipal Division and for mandatory arbitration prior to trial.
The complaint then is taken to the Sheriff for service on the party who injured
you. In order to have an effective
judgment the Court must have jurisdiction over the person sued. To obtain this jurisdiction the Sheriff or a specially
appointed process server must hand the complaint to the defendant or a member of
his household. Once served with the
complaint the defendant has twenty-eight days to file his answer to the
allegations of the complaint. This
is handled by the insurance company’s lawyers.
Due to the backlog of cases that have been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook
County a lawsuit may take several years to complete.
The first phase of the lawsuit is commonly known as “Discovery”. In this phase each side tries to discover what evidence or
potential evidence exists; the plaintiff to prove his case and the defendant to
defeat the plaintiff’s claim.
The procedures for discovery are contained in the Illinois Supreme Court Rules and the Code of Civil Procedure. Generally, each side will present to their opponent a list of written questions concerning the biographical information of the injured person, the names and addresses of witness, the injuries and medical treatment and the experts each side intends to call to present their case. These questions are called interrogatories.
A deposition is scheduled between the two offices and may be rescheduled from time to time by the insurance company’s lawyers. At William B. Meyers and Associates we frown on any continuances. We always try to quickly and efficiently prosecute your case without delay.
During the deposition a court reporter will be present to type all of the questions and testimony. The person will be sworn to tell the truth and a series of questions will be asked. William B. Meyers & Associates realizes that it is important to provide accurate information so we will be happy to make ourselves available to you to practice the deposition and review all of the documents necessary for you to present all of your points to the insurance company.
Once the discovery is completed for the parties to the lawsuit the next stage is the discovery of the medical doctors and other experts. At this time the deposition of the experts are taken to discover their opinions and the basis for their opinions. This gives each side notice as to what evidence will be presented at trial. After medical evidence is established the case will be set for a trial date; however, in Municipal cases the next step is mandatory arbitration.
Cases that have a stated value of less than $50,000 are assigned to the Municipal Division and must be assigned to mandatory arbitration.
Mandatory arbitration is an attempt by the Illinois Supreme Court to reduce the number of cases on the court calendar. Mandatory arbitration takes place a few months after discovery has been completed. At the mandatory arbitration neither side relinquishes their rights to a jury trial if they participate in good faith in the arbitration. At the arbitration a panel of three trained attorneys will sit as the judge and jury of the case. The arbitration will be completed within two hours whereas a trial takes at least two days.
The attorneys make opening statements, the witnesses are called; the medical evidence is introduced and then closing argument is heard. This mini-trial gives each side a view into the strategy and planning of the other side. The arbitrators’ decision is rendered within an hour. The arbitrators' decision is not final however. Either side that participated in the arbitration has the right to reject or erase the decision of the arbitrators and allow their case to be heard by a jury. The rejection of the arbitration award costs $200 and must be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court within thirty days of the arbitration. Should neither side reject the arbitration award the amount awarded will become an enforceable judgment.
If the arbitration award is rejected then the case proceeds to trial. At a trial the evidence is presented over a period of days or weeks and the matter is entrusted to jury to render a verdict that they feel is fair and just.
Cases that have a value (potential recovery) of more than $50,000.00 are assigned to the law division. In the law division, discovery is conducted in much the same manner as that in the municipal division. Once exception to the procedure is that there are no mandatory arbitrations conducted in the law division.
The cases in the law division most often are assigned to specific judges that
monitor the discovery and often times are
more rigid in their rulings in an effort to ready the case for trial at a
somewhat faster rate than in the municipal division.
Discovery is conducted in the same manner as in the municipal division
cases. Each side sends out
interrogatories and takes the deposition of the other person’s client.
When the discovery period is closed the court then sets the matter for
pre-trial.
A pre-trial is an effort to resolve the case by settlement.
Each side of attorneys informs the judge of their “bottom line” for
settlement (without informing the other attorney) and the judge attempts to
bring the parties to a mutually acceptable amount. If the case isn’t settled then it is generally given a
trial date. It is not critical for
the clients to appear at the pre-trial but we at William B. Meyers &
Associates always inform the clients as to the scheduling of the
pre-trial and discuss our position with our clients, questions concerning the
biographical information of the injured person, witness names and addresses,
listing of medical providers and bills, previous injuries and claims as well as
the experts, each party intends to call at the trial of the case.
If after all efforts to settle the case have been exhausted, the judge then sets the case down for a jury trial which can take several days and cost an additional several thousand dollars for expert witnesses and the like. At the end of the jury trial – there is a winner and a loser. At William B. Meyers & Associates we are consistently the winner.