Visitor Question

Requesting Trial by Jury in Personal Injury Defense Case…

Submitted By: Richard (Central Falls, RI)

I want to go to trial because someone ran a red light and is now suing me. I definitely want to request a jury trial and I plan on denying any settlement that puts me at fault in any way.

This is why I will have to represent myself, because personal injury attorneys, like insurance companies are in it for the money…it is their business and I get that, but this is my life and my reputation.

Me admitting fault when they ran a red light is just ridiculous to me, regardless of settlement numbers. At any rate, my question is since there is no threshold, am I allowed to request a trial by jury?

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Richard,

The simple answer to your question is “Yes”, you are allowed to request a jury trial in this case particularly since there are factual issues in dispute.

The question from our end, however is whether you have insurance? If you do, your insurance company would assign an adjuster to this claim to deny liability and/or to provide defense counsel to you to fight a frivolous lawsuit.

If you do not have insurance, then of course you will need to defend yourself by first filing an answer denying all allegations and perhaps proceeding with defense motions such as a summary judgment motion where you assert that there are no triable issues of material fact.

Be advised that trials are very expensive and often require a lot of time as well as legal expertise.

Learn more here: Personal Injury Lawsuit Process

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

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