Filing a personal injury claim in the State of Iowa
What is the process of making a claim in Iowa?
After your incident, you need to hire a lawyer in order to protect yourself and effectively make a claim. Here’s the typical claims process in Iowa:
1
Gather Evidence
Start your incident journal immediately and visit your doctor. These records will help us win your case.
2
File a Personal Injury Lawsuit
If the offending party doesn’t respond to your demand letter, we file our suit into the court system to proceed with the legal process.
3
Send a Demand Letter
This is where the infamous ‘you’ve been served’ quote comes from. Papers are served to the offending party. They have a choice of whether to respond to your demand.
4
Discovery
Evidence is compiled formally before trial for both parties.
5
Mediation
This is a formal process where a third party facilitates a negotiation between both parties in an effort towards a settlement. This can close out before a trial, but in personal injury, the settlement pre-trial is often low-balled.
6
Settlement
When we win your personal injury lawsuit, the sum of money the court decides on for your compensation is your settlement money.
In some cases, a fair agreement can be made without going to trial, also called ‘settling’ – although we do not shy away from a judge and jury to tell your story.
7
Personal Injury Trial
We will present our case in front of a judge and jury. The negligent party’s insurance legal team will defend to protect themselves from paying money out. Danny will stand fearlessly in honor of your human rights.
8
Appeal
If for some reason the case is not ruled in our favor, we will assess our opportunities. Oftentimes the best course of action is to head back into battle with an evidence-based appeal.
Do not speak to any opposing party about anything aside from attaining their contact and insurance information. Speak with your attorney FIRST.
Any documented statements can be used against you to diminish your recovery of damages.
Once you’ve done all of the damage control necessary to ensure your health is in order, you will meet with your lawyer to determine how much you are owed in damages.
How does my lawyer determine what my case is worth?
Determining the value of your claim is dependent on a few different factors. First, the special damages, or hard costs can be easily added up. These include costs such as medical bills, lost income due to missing work, and the cost of repairs to damaged property. Second, general damages must be calculated. General damages are more difficult to assign a monetary value to since it includes pain and suffering and emotional trauma.
Now your lawyer will file your complaint. This is the beginning of your due process.
What Happens During Your Personal Injury Lawsuit
In this phase, all evidence is collected by both sides. Your medical documents, any pictures you took, your testimony and more will be submitted at this time. During the discovery phase, interviews (key witnesses, depositions, cross-examinations), and requests for documentation or admissions will occur for each side to help build their case. Danny will take care to ensure your best interest during these exchanges.
In the state of Iowa, mediation is a mandatory pre-trial step in the process of a personal injury claim. A mediator is mutually agreed upon by both parties’ lawyers. We will all gather in a conference room to listen to the options the mediator suggests based on both the plaintiff’s and defendant’s arguments. This is much more informal than what will occur at trial.
If the defence offers a reasonable settlement during the mediation process, the lawsuit can end here and does not need to go to trial. However, its important to note that pre-trial settlements are rarely in the injured party’s best interest, no matter how common they are. Danny Cornell is a trial lawyer who will ensure your case is communicated effectively in front of a jury if necessary so that you can completely recover your damages. Settlement talks remain available until the end of trial when the jury reaches a verdict.
During the Trial
Both you (the plaintiff) and the defendant will have your cases argued by your lawyers before a judge and jury. Key witness and applicable expert witness testimony will be heard as part of this process. It is your lawyer’s job to convey that you deserve to have damages recovered, and in most cases to also prove negligence on behalf of the defendant.
The end-of-trial verdict
The jury will reach a verdict, which will then be delivered by the judge. This represents the outcome of your personal injury claim.
“At Cornell Injury Law, we have recovered tens of millions in total damages for our clients.”
– Danny Cornell, Managing Partner
In the state of Iowa, the damages recovered are determined based on calculating “modified, comparative negligence”This means that if the jury finds you partially liable for your injury, the amount of liability will be deducted from your award.
“If a jury finds the plaintiff 20% liable for their injury, the defendant is liable to pay 80% of those damages they are responsible for”
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