What to Expect at a Car Accident Personal Injury Jury Trial

Car Accident Lawyer Representing People Injured in Auto Accidents in New York

Personal injury trials are not nearly as glamorous as what you see on TV courtroom dramas.  The biggest decision a car accident plaintiff makes is whether to accept a settlement offer or proceed to trial.  An experienced Car Accident Lawyer can explain to you the pros and cons of going to trial, given the individual circumstances of your case.

What follows is a very general overview of a simple car accident personal injury jury trial, so you have some idea of what to expect.  A car accident jury trial typically consists of the following:

• Voir dire
• Opening Statements
• Plaintiff’s case-in-chief
• Defendant’s case-in-chief
• Jury Instructions
• Closing Arguments

Jury Selection

A personal injury jury trial begins with a process known as voir dire. This is the process by which individual jury members are selected from a pool of jurors. The potential jurors are typically read a series of questions designed to expose potential biases and prejudices. Some potential jurors are then systematically eliminated.

Opening Statements

The main purpose of an opening statement is for the car accident attorney to provide jury members with an overview of what the evidence in the case will show.

Immediately after the plaintiff’s attorney makes an opening statement, the defendant’s attorney will then have the opportunity to make an opening statement.

Direct Examination

On direct examination at a car accident jury trial, the plaintiff’s attorney will typically call his or her client and any witnesses to the stand to testify.  These witnesses may be lay witnesses or expert witnesses.  A good direct exam allows the plaintiff an opportunity to tell jury members his or her “story” of the car accident and about the injuries and damages sustained.

Cross-examination and Redirect Examination

During cross-examination, the opposing attorney has the opportunity to ask the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s witnesses very focused follow-up leading questions, in order to expose weaknesses in the plaintiff’s case.  Following cross-examination, the plaintiff’s attorney has the opportunity to ask follow-up questions of the plaintiff on redirect examination.

After the plaintiff rests, the defense attorney may then call the defendant(s) and witnesses.  Each of these witnesses may be cross-examined by the plaintiff’s attorney and redirect-examined by the defense attorney.  Once the defendant(s) have presented their side of the case, the defense also rests.

Once all of the evidence in the case has been presented, the judge will instruct the jury members on the law(s) that they are to apply in reaching their verdict by issuing them the relevant section(s) of the New York Pattern Jury Instructions.

Closing Arguments

At the conclusion of the car accident jury trial, each attorney typically makes a closing argument which ties together all of the facts and evidence presented in the case.

Contact Car Accident Lawyer Brooklyn NY for Help

Personal injury trials in car accident cases are complex.  An experienced Car Accident Lawyer Brooklyn NY can make recommendations about whether or not you should go to trial or accept a settlement offer. To schedule a free consultation with one of our accident lawyers, call the The Rybak Law Firm, PLLC ., today at 718-307-5554 or contact us online.

¹http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_issues_for_consumers/injury.html

²https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/voir_dire

Car Accident Lawyer Near Me

Our offices are located in Brooklyn, NY.  Although our offices are in Brooklyn, NY we serve the whole NYC Metro Area and represent clients in every borough of New York City. Our Car Accident Lawyers are able to travel to you if you are unable to meet at our offices due to an injury. We also provide free transportation to and from our offices.

Our office address is:

1810 Voorhies Ave

Suite #7

Brooklyn, NY 11235