Personal injury
Every plaintiff who files a complaint in a personal injury case has a right to a jury trial if the plaintiff can claim damages in excess of $30,000 in the District of Columbia.
Car accident cases generally can take several months before a settlement demand can be made. This is due to the time it takes for a plaintiff’s attorney to assemble all the documents, and for the plaintiff to continue and finish all medical treatment.
Updated on June 17th, 2022 at 02:54 pm
A party can elect recovery through no fault insurance in the District, but that party would then waive the right to file a complaint and pursue the matter in court.
Personal injury damages come from the following sources: 1) the costs of medical treatment and recovery, 2) the mental or emotional damages that come from the accident as well as the loss of quality of life activities, and 3) economic damages related to the loss of a job or ability earn in the future.
Each party in a personal injury case has the right to take depositions of the other parties and of witnesses in a case. A party taking the deposition is allowed to question the deponent and the deponent must testify under oath in response to the questions.
Contributory negligence is a defense in car accident cases. If the defendant can prove that a plaintiff was negligent, even to the slightest degree, then a plaintiff’s recovery can be barred entirely if the jury finds that a plaintiff was contributorily negligent.
Mediation occurs when the parties of the case present their settlement positions to an impartial third party who then attempts to bring both sides to a settlement agreement.
Punitive damages are damages that are warded to a plaintiff due to gross, outrageous or malicious acts from the defendant. Punitive damages must be specifically pleaded in a complaint and must be proved at trial.
The standard of proof at trial for a personally injury case in the District of Columbia is the preponderance of the evidence.
The statute of limitations is a deadline for filing a complaint in the District of Columbia following an accident. The statute of limitations for car accident cases, which are usually filed under claims of negligence, is 3 years from the date of the accident.
The driver of the at-fault vehicle would be the named defendant, but the driver’s insurance company would assume the defense in most circumstances and would be responsible for the payment of damages following a settlement or trial.
The District of Columbia would be the named defendant in a sidewalk case if the District was responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the sidewalk where the accident occurred. If DC is not responsible for such upkeep, then the property owner at the sidewalk location of the incident would be the named defendant.