When you take your personal injury lawsuit to a trial, a jury will decide whether or not you proved your case. That jury will be responsible for deciding whether the defendant caused your injuries, what your damages were, and how much you deserve to be paid due to the defendant’s negligence.
The jury will be asked to make a decision and return a verdict – whether the defendant is legally liable or not. This will be the outcome of your trial.
Can you appeal a verdict if the outcome is not in your favor? Either party can appeal a verdict in a personal injury case. Whether the appeal succeeds depends on different factors and any issues that came up in your trial. Filing an appeal on its own does not necessarily mean you get a new trial.
Common Reasons for an Appeal
Some reasons for an appeal in a personal injury can include:
- Jury misconduct. This can involve jurors improperly discussing the case with others not on the jury, or a juror failing to disclose they had a connection to one of the parties. The jury selection process seeks to weed out biased jurors, but jurors with an agenda can still make it to the final pool of jurors in some cases.
- The judge made a clear error in applying the law or giving out jury instructions.
- The judge suppressed evidence that should have been allowed under the rules of evidence.
- The judge’s decision to either allow or block testimony from an expert witness was not supported by the law.
Common reasons for an appeal include, but are not limited to:
- The court’s decision to allow or deny testimony from an expert witness was incorrect.
- There was jury misconduct, such as a juror discussing the case with someone not on the jury or the juror concealing they had a relationship with one of the parties in the case.
- The judge suppressed evidence that should have been allowed to be presented in court.
- The jury’s verdict was not supported by the law applying to your case.
Your Lawrenceville personal injury attorney will analyze the legal issues and facts involved in your case to see whether you could have grounds for an appeal. If an error or issue in your trial led to an unlawful verdict, a higher court might reverse the decision. In some situations, they will even send the case back to the trial court for a new trial. This is known as a remand to the lower court.
Can I Appeal If My Case Was Settled?
The majority of personal injury cases are resolved with a settlement between both sides. Settlement can happen before a case is filed or at any point before a trial ends. Often, the defendant’s attorney and insurance company will make an offer that fairly addresses the plaintiff’s injuries.
Settlement agreements will almost always include terms that the plaintiff can’t file a new claim related to the facts of the case. Once signed off by both sides, a settlement ends all ongoing disputes between the parties. For these reasons, a settlement cannot be appealed to a higher court. Appellate courts will consider appeals from jury verdicts but not civil settlements.
For these reasons, it is crucial for victims to work with an experienced personal injury lawyer with the ability to recognize whether a case is best resolved through settlement or trial. Further, a knowledgeable attorney will know what trial issues can be appealed, and how to file the appeal.
How Do I Appeal My Personal Injury Verdict?
In Georgia, appeals from personal injury verdicts typically go to the Georgia Court of Appeals. Appellants have very little time to get their appeal filed, however. In most cases, the deadline will be only 30 days from the date of judgment. Appellate courts also have specific requirements about how an appeal should be formatted and filed with the clerk. A notice of appeal must be filed with your county’s trial court clerk within a certain timeframe as well.
Due to the strict time limit and filing requirements, skilled lawyers are essential in helping you file your appeal correctly. If you fail to properly file your appeal, you could lose your chance for an appeal permanently.
The appellant (the party filing the appeal) will be required to file a brief to the appellate court and provide a copy to the defendant (now known as the appellee). From there, the appellee can file a response brief to yours.
An appellate court will review the parties’ briefs along with the transcripts, evidence, and other information from the lower court. In some situations, the appeals court could allow oral arguments from the parties. During oral arguments, attorneys will have limited time to make their cases to the appeals court.
The appeals court will not reconsider the facts of the case, and it will not be a “re-trial” of your jury trial. The appellate judges will only consider whether an error of law took place during your trial.
From there, they will make a decision which could be:
- Remand to trial court based on error
- Overturning the trial court’s decision
- Denial of the appeal.
Due to the strict guidelines and importance of the appeal to you, it is always preferable to work with an experienced appellate attorney in Lawrenceville, GA, when you are unhappy with the jury’s verdict in a personal injury case.
Contact a Lawrenceville Personal Injury Lawyer for Help With an Appeal
Not all personal injury cases go to trial in Georgia. Those that do will result in a jury verdict in favor of one side or the other. After a verdict, a personal injury plaintiff has a right to appeal within a short time period. To learn more about your right to appeal a personal injury verdict, contact our dedicated legal team at Lawson Personal Injury Attorneys to schedule your free consultation at 678-710-3304.