In a California personal injury case, a verdict is:
- The final decision reached by a jury when your case goes to trial.
Understanding when your case might head to trial—and what that really means—can help you feel more prepared and less overwhelmed. If you want to talk through how your case could play out, including what a verdict might involve, our team at Maison Law can walk you through your options and answer your questions during a free consultation.
How Does a Jury Reach a Verdict in a Personal Injury Case?
Once your case reaches a California courtroom, it’s going to come down to what the jury decides. And at least process-wise, there’s really no difference between a criminal trial and a civil trial. The jurors are going to have to deliberate and reach a verdict.
But there’s a few key differences when you’re the one sitting in a courtroom after filing a personal injury lawsuit. Here’s how the jury will reach a verdict:
- Listening to testimony and statements. The jury’s main job is to listen to testimony from the people involved in the accident, eyewitnesses, and often doctors or other professionals who can explain the injuries and treatment. This will form the basis of your case, but it’s also down to the evidence. Jurors can look at the relevant records, pictures, videos, and other things that help them connect the dots between what happened and how it affected you.
- Judge’s instructions. Once all the evidence and testimony has been presented to them, the judge will step in to explain the legal rules the jury has to follow. This includes what evidence they can and can’t Also, since a personal injury case is civil, it’s going to come down to whether your version of events is more than likely true as compared to the insurance company’s version.
With that, the jury will go to deliberations, which is where they’ll talk things out privately. If the jury finds in your favor, they also decide on the verdict amount. That means considering your:
- Medical bills
- Missed work/lost income
- Property damage
- Ongoing pain and emotional distress
- How your life has changed since the injury.
Obviously, the prospect of leaving your fate up to 12 jurors can be pretty scary. After all, despite your best efforts, there’s only so much you can control when you go to trial. That’s why a lot of personal injury cases settle before reaching a jury at all. But no matter what the circumstances are, our team at Maison Law will make sure you get the best verdict possible.
If you’re curious about how we can do that or if you just want to understand more about the personal injury process, reach out today for a free consultation.
