Fundamental Steps During Personal Injury Trials
There is a specialized civil trial called a personal injury trial
. This determines liability, or legal responsibility, for an injury to a party. This is not a criminal trial; the determination of liability is not about punishing the liable party, but about compensating the injured party and awarding damages to them. There are several key steps in a personal injury trial.First, a jury has to be convened. Each juror must be chosen to sit on the jury. All potential jurors are reviewed and questioned to make sure that they will be fair in their evaluation of facts and are capable of judging personal injury and responsibility.
Next, the attorneys make opening statements. In a personal injury trial, these are overviews of facts that each side suggest indicate that their argument is the correct one.
After opening statements comes testimony. In testimony, victims and witnesses present their story of what happened. They can tell about what they experienced, and also what they saw.
Sometimes there is cross-examination following testimony. When this happens, the lawyers question witnesses to clarify their statements and review the facts they have presented. Sometimes the reliability of facts is disputed or disproven.
Next are closing arguments. Both sides give a closing. Each summarizes their case. This is done at the very end, and it is the last presentation that is made before the jury leaves to debate and vote.
Taken together, these steps are meant to give the jury all the information it needs to understand what happened in the case. Jury members are expected to impartially examine the available data, and to weigh the relative merits of each side's arguments. Then the jury votes on which side made their case and whether the defendant is to be held liable.
When the jury has decided this they will then give their ruling to the court. In most states it has to be a unanimous decision with all jurors agreeing. In states that this is not required, there still must be an overwhelming majority, of 9 to 3 or better.
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