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Most injury claims will settle before they ever have to go to court. When a case does go to court, however, there is a chance that you – the plaintiff – might get a poor verdict. In some cases, this outcome can be appealed if there was an error in implementing the law fairly. One of our tactical car accident attorneys could explain what is involved with appealing a car accident case in Cook County.
Many people misunderstand when an appeal is warranted in a car accident case in Cook County. If a case proceeds to a verdict, that means one side will have won and one side will have lost, and simply because a party does not like the outcome is not sufficient grounds to appeal a case. The jury is given discretion as to which facts they will rely on in reaching their decision and disagreeing with a jury decision is not sufficient grounds for an appeal.
In order to successfully appeal a case, a personal injury attorney must point to errors of law that occurred during the car accident trial, usually involving the judge making a legally inaccurate ruling. If that ruling rises to a level that it affected the ultimate outcome of the case, then that may be an issue on which to appeal; but generally speaking, a verdict by a jury is given a lot of discretion. For this reason, appeals are not as common as people think.
If a verdict is entered for money and the losing party files an appeal, the prevailing party is entitled to receive interest on that award during the course of the appeal. It is not fair to continue the pursuit of justice during an appeal without compensating the plaintiff with interest.
An appeal can take as little as a few months or as long as several years. It depends upon the complexity of the case and the issues involved. Appeals tend to take longer than the original court case, and people are often surprised at how few cases are actually appealed.
Every case is different and the appeals process is different as well. Some cases can be resolved quickly on appeal, while others will require a much longer time period. There is no rule of thumb as to how long an appeal will take.
There are various levels to a Cook County auto injury appeal. There is typically an Intermediate Court of Appeals which hears most disputes following judgment beyond the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court is also an option, however, they very few cases.
After a trial, all issues in the case must be filed for an appeal at one time. The court does not allow litigants to appeal multiple issues at multiple times following a verdict. It is essential that a party consult with an experienced attorney whenever they are contemplating this motion.
It is important to have strong issues on which to appeal. Simply appealing because they do not agree with the verdict is not effective. They must be able to point to specific errors of law which impacted the ultimate recovery in the case.
The appeals process is not common, but in situations where there was a miscarriage of justice, McCready Law could assist. Appealing a car accident case in Cook County is not meant as a do-over, but rather to rectify legal malpractice committed by a lawyer or judge. Call us for a free consultation and learn what is possible in your case.