Delaware Accident Injury Lawyers - Call Knepper & Stratton (302)658-1717 or (302)736-5500 for your Free Initial Consultation*

HOW WE HANDLE YOUR DELAWARE PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

Since potential clients do not usually know what to expect in the processing of their claims for Delaware personal injuries, we would like to acquaint you with the usual manner in which we handle injury cases of your type.  We feel this will be helpful to you and ourselves in answering questions that might otherwise arise in your mind when there is not an opportunity for us to immediately answer them for you.

The Initial Conference with a Knepper & Stratton Personal Injury Lawyer

When you are first interviewed, we obtain general information concerning your Delaware accident and injury.  Quite often you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire which will be used only by our office.  Certain other materials relating to things you should or should not do will be furnished to you.  You will be requested to sign certain authorization forms which will allow us to obtain necessary medical and employment information.

Investigation

We will notify the other party's insurance company that you have retained us as your attorneys.  Letters will be sent to all physicians and hospitals involved in the case, requesting medical information regarding your injuries.  Any police officers who may have been involved will be identified, witnesses will be identified, and if necessary photographs will be taken.  Any necessary information from employers, schools or other persons will be requested.

Evaluation

It is important to know that no case is settled until the damages have all be determined and all investigation has been completed.  It generally takes several months to gather the necessary preliminary information.  Depending upon your medical condition it may take years to make a determination as to what damages you have sustained.  If a trial becomes necessary, it can take several years to complete the case.  One of the most difficult requests we must make of you is to have patience.      As soon as our investigation is completed and sufficient information obtained, we will make an evaluation of your case, discuss it with you, and attempt to arrive at a proper settlement figure.  No settlement figure is ever submitted without first discussing it with you.  We will then prepare a settlement package to submit to the insurance company.

Starting a Lawsuit in Delaware Courts

If settlement cannot be reached with the insurance company, we will consider the advisability of filing a lawsuit.  In some cases, however, it is important to start a lawsuit as soon as possible.  A lawsuit is started by filing with the appropriate Delaware court and serving on the other party a paper called a Complaint, which indicates to that party that they are being sued as a result of the accident.  The other party is called a defendant.  The defendant takes this paper to his or her insurance company, which delivers it to its lawyers.  The lawyers then send us a paper called an Answer and, at this point, the case is at issue.  We want to point out that, although a lawsuit may have been started, settlement is always possible and is often made just before trial.

Delaware Superior Court Arbitration [Not available after March 1, 2008]*

In Delaware if when the complaint is filed, it is not certified to the court that your case is worth in excess of $100.000.00 it is sent to mandatory arbitration.

An Arbitration Hearing is a mini-trial of your case.  It will last anywhere from several hours to all day. It will be heard by a
Delaware lawyer who the Court has appointed as the Arbitrator in your case.  It usually takes place in a conference room in the Arbitrator's law office.

At this Arbitration Hearing you must testify under oath about the accident which caused your injuries and about your injuries.  In addition, you will be asked questions about any accidents in which you may have been involved and/or injuries you may have suffered to any area of your body, even if it is not the area of the body with which you were or are presently having a problem as a result of the accident.

If you testify incorrectly under oath, the other attorney will call you a liar in his or her closing argument to the Arbitrator and
will attempt to use this against you in future proceedings.  Therefore, it is very important that you meet with us several times for several hours at a time to go over all of the documents in your case including all of your medical records.  The Arbitrator, just like a jury,  is not allowed to be told that the defendant has insurance.

After hearing all of the testimony and reviewing all of the documents in evidence, the Arbitrator will decide whether or not the
Defendant was negligent in such a way as to cause your injuries.  If the Arbitrator decides that the Defendant was negligent and caused your injuries the Arbitrator will make a single monetary award to you which represents the Arbitrator's opinion of what you should receive for any unreimbursed monetary damages you suffered as well as pain and suffering.  The Court Rules specify that the Arbitrator should send out the decision within five (5) business days of the Arbitration Hearing.  Unfortunately, this does not always happen.  Sometimes the Arbitrator takes longer to make a decision.  We will notify you immediately by letter of the Arbitration award.

Any party may reject the Arbitration Decision within twenty days of the date of the Arbitration Order by filing papers with the court and paying a $150.00 fee.  If any party rejects the Award, your case will then proceed with further litigation and ultimately to Trial, where a jury will decide what, if anything, to award you. If this case is not settled, it will be scheduled for the first Jury Trial date available, which in New Castle County is in 1 to 2 years from the date of your Arbitration Hearing.

*(Please note that in cases filed on or after March 1, 2008, mandatory Arbitration of cases will no longer be required by the Court and the timelines and filing fees outlined above will no longer apply.)

Discovery in Delaware Courts

Once a non-arbitration lawsuit has been started or after the appeal of an Arbitration Award, both sides have the right to obtain information about the case by a process called "Discovery" which consists of depositions "under oath", written interrogatories (which must be answered under oath), Requests for Production and Requests for Admissions.

A deposition is the testimony of some party or witness given under oath in the presence of attorneys for both plaintiff and defendant, and before a court reporter who takes down the testimony. 

Interrogatories are written questions which either attorney may submit, and which have to be answered in writing under oath within 30 days of being served on the applicable party, Plaintiff(s) or Defendant(s).

Requests for Production are written requests for documents in the possession of the other party and must be answered within 30 days of being served on the applicable party, Plaintiff(s) or Defendant(s).

We generally use Interrogatories, Requests for Production, Requests for Admissions and depositions to help us investigate the facts.  The defendant's attorneys also have the right to take testimony, submit interrogatories and request document production.  At any time throughout this "Discovery" period, the possibility of settlement may come up again.  If anything concrete occurs, we will advise you promptly.

Trial in a Delaware Court

If you case cannot be settled for a reasonable amount of money, we will, with your permission, proceed to trial.  The last several weeks before the trial date are spent in detailed  preparation of your case.  It will be necessary for you to spend several days with our staff in preparation for your trial.  You will need to be present at every day of the trial.  What is expected of you at trial will be explained to you in minute detail well in advance of your going to the courthouse.  Once again, the vast majority of cases are never tried even though a lawsuit has been started.  Often, however, they are not settled until a few weeks or days before the trial date.

The Delaware trial lawyers at Knepper & Stratton represent clients in personal injury lawsuits, employment law suits, traffic ticket defense and DUI defense throughout the State of Delaware, Kent County, Sussex County and New Castle County, including the communities of Wilmington, Newark, Middletown, Dover, Smyrna, Harrington, New Castle, Claymont, Georgetown, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, Fenwick Island, Seaford, Lewes, Camden, Wyoming, Frederica, Houston, Milford, Hockessin, Little Creek, Delaware City, Glasgow, Bear, Townsend, Elsmere, Newport, Fairfax, Talleyville, Greenville, Centerville, St. Georges, Dover AFB, Dover Air Force Base, Pike Creek, Wilton,  and Port Penn for incidents occuring on the highways of Delaware including U.S. Rt. 202, I-95, I-495, U.S. Rt. 13, DE Rt. 7, U.S. Rt. 13, DE Rt. 52, U.S. Rt. 301, DE. Rt. 1, U.S. Rt. 113, DE Rt. 9, U.S. Rt. 40, Concord Pike, DE Rt. 2, Pulaski Highway, DE Rt. 72, Old Baltimore Pike, Limestone Road, DuPont Highway, Kennett Pike, Kirkwood Highway, Maryland Avenue, DE Rt. 4, DE Rt. 896, and DE Rt. 71.