Each year, more and more personal injury claimants decide they don’t need an attorney. They file a claim or go to court on their own, in a process called pro se litigation. Many states see about 67%-73% of their cases litigated in this matter. On the Federal level, it is rarer; About a quarter of the actions are done this way. Even if you feel you’re in the right, and there is no way to lose your case pro se, going in without a solicitor is dangerous. Assuming you win, you will almost certainly receive less compensation than a solicitor could have gotten you. Here are a few reasons why your solicitor will come in handy.
You can’t possibly know as much about personal injury law as your attorney. If you did, you would be a personal injury attorney yourself. Seemingly clear cut cases aren’t always so simple. Let’s take the case of a distracted driving accident: Motorist x hits a pedestrian while talking on their cell phone. Pro se litigant Y would certainly be able to get their medical bills paid by going to court on their own, but they would be unlikely to get punitive damages (special fines assessed as a punishment.) It would take an attorney to prove cognitive as well as visual distraction, and persuade the judge and jury to assess the maximum damages allowed under the law.
Successful jury selection takes years of training and practice. An often ignored part of winning a case is selecting the jury. You are highly restricted in the types of questions you can ask them, and properly forming your jury questionnaire is like writing a survey: It requires solid knowledge of demographic and psychographic tendencies, using statistics for interpretation. There is also a wisdom that only comes with experience. As most solicitors admit, their first few jury selections were disastrous. Do you really want inexperience driving down the value of your claim?
Even if you have a solid case, the other side will beat you because of superior cross-examination. You might think you’re good in an argument. You might think if you just “hold fast to your guns,” and “say the truth,” that anyone with half a brain will see you’re right. But court doesn’t work that way. Whoever has the most sophisticated and cunning cross-examination strategy wins the day; In ninety percent of all cases. And just because you came in without a solicitor, don’t expect the other side to do the same. Many naive self-defendants have crumbled under the examination of a skilled, legal professional. It’s what solicitors are trained to do.
Questioning the witness. Interviewing the witness is not easy. Remember, they can lie but you can’t accuse them of lying, that’s called “badgering the witness.” You must slowly develop a case that shows your position is more likely to be true than their’s. There have been a number of books written on this art form but the truth is, unless you’ve done it already, there is no way to know you will be successful.
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