Your personal injury case went in the wrong direction. Maybe your lawyer failed to represent you correctly. Maybe it was not your lawyers fault; cases are won and lost every day and sometimes the facts are the facts.

However, in some cases a more experienced personal injury lawyer could have done better. You might not have a good dialogue with the lawyer. Also, your lawyer may have overcharged you or acted inappropriately. In any of these cases, you can hire a new personal injury lawyer and begin an appeal. This is your second chance to prove in a court that you were wronged.

It could involve a car accident, a loved one dying through medical negligence, or a number of other personal injury cases which involve pain, suffering, and costs. In these cases, it is your right for compensation – you just need an experienced personal injury lawyer to help.

How can they help?
In an earlier post, we went over how you can appeal court decisions with appeals. In these cases, you are often entering no new evidence (though if there is clearly relevant new evidence, you can use it). Now, there will be no trial, no jury, no witnesses, no opening and closing arguments. Your lawyer for you as plaintiff will appeal that the court decision was in error. Perhaps your new lawyer feels the judge or jury did not accurately interpret the laws. This is where the appeals court comes in, going over everything that happened and was presented in court, and then making a case for you. The defense will be fighting this, stating the original trial and its verdict were correct and should be upheld.

The Appellate Brief
The appellate brief is your lawyers way to win. He or she will write a brief with the intent of persuading that the trial judge did not accurately interpret the laws. The defense too will create a brief, but to prove the judge did act correctly.

The Record
All documents, evidence, the pleading, the pre-trial motions, a transcript of the trial, and more will be presented to the appeals court. It can be problematic for both sides in this step, as if not enough was said in the trial you have little opportunity to do so again. An experienced lawyer can still win, but as you can’t usually enter new evidence or question witnesses a second time, it will be harder.

Your Last Chance
Even if you lose in appeal court, you can still file with the state or federal supreme court (unless you’re in Maryland or New York,  who call this the Court of Appeals). The problem is you have a smaller chance of even appearing in court. Supreme courts get a lot of appeals cases, and unless a law has been broken or something else isn’t correct, you will have trouble even getting to court.

If you’re this far along in the process, you may wonder if going through appeals court and the supreme court is even worth it. An experienced personal injury lawyer should be able to help you make the decision.

You went to trial because you offer was made on your accident claim, or you went to trial because the offer was not good enough. The jury’s verdict was against you, making it seem like a complete waste. But if you’ve followed U.S. Courts before, you know there is a little something called the appeals court. It’s not just for criminal law issues. The appeals court is open to other subjects, including personal injury. If you lost a case, and are unsure of what to do next, this blog post will help.

You Can Appeal
Again, you do have a legal right to appeal. If you feel the judge and/or jury acted in error, if new evidence comes in, if you feel the law was not properly followed, you quite often have a case.

Should you appeal?
Now that you know you can appeal personal injury law verdicts, you may want to know if it’s worth appealing. This gets complicated from state to state. For example, some states allow juries to make decisions without a unanimous vote, while others require a unanimous vote for the trial to be upheld. In other cases, the judge can make the decision, or if the jury fails to reach a verdict, throw the case out. It does get complicated, which makes your choice of lawyer quite important. In order to go to appeals court, you need a legitimate claim and an experienced personal injury lawyer. That’s far from easy, but with it you have your best chance.

The Differences Between a Trial and Appeal Court
A trial is what comes initially, where you, your lawyer, and the defense argue using evidence regarding the personal injury in front of a judge and jury. All evidence is presented, witnesses and experts from both sides are called, closing arguments are given, then the jury goes into deliberation and usually comes out with a verdict.

It’s very different in appeals court. You will still be arguing your case, but you have to prove it on the facts or any new evidence which was not present before. There will be no witnesses, no experts, no opening and closing arguments. The rule of appeals court is to look over in detail everything which was presented at the initial trial. In short, the court will review all evidence and testimony already recorded.

Appellate Briefs
This brief is where the lawyers of plaintiff and defense earn their money. You as plaintiff and your  lawyer will make it clear the trial judge or jury did not act in accordance with the law. Something was not followed correctly, and when it comes to law, that’s often all it takes. The defense will do the opposite: their job is to prove the trial followed all laws and the verdict was correct.

As you can see, these things can get complicated. However, this is a good start in understanding the appeals process. It is your right to hire a personal injury lawyer, file a suit with the court, and if you fail, to appeal the verdict in a court of law.