How To Appeal A Personal Injury Case: The Process And Considerations

What Does It Mean To Appeal Your Case?

When a personal injury case goes to trial, a judge or jury will decide whether the injured party is entitled to receive compensation and in what amount. Thus, in every personal injury case, there is likely to be at least one dissatisfied party due to the following potential outcomes:

• The injured person might not receive any compensation
• The injured person might not receive as much compensation as they need
• The at-fault person might be ordered to pay compensation
• The at-fault person might agree they are responsible but disagree with the amount of compensation they are ordered to pay

Appealing your personal injury claim means that you tell the appellate court that one or more mistakes in your case could have affected the outcome. Through your appeal, you ask the court to acknowledge these errors and address them appropriately.

How To Appeal A Personal Injury Case In Colorado

In Colorado, you must follow certain procedures to appeal a case. If you do not take the appropriate steps or fail to take them in the allotted time, you will lose your ability to challenge the outcome in your case. This outcome can happen even if you have a valid reason to appeal.

Generally, the steps in the appeals process consist of the following:

Reviewing And Preparing To Appeal

Before you file an appeal, you must have at least one issue that can be appealed. To determine this, you and your attorney will order and review transcripts and other documents from your case. After reviewing the proceedings, you and your counsel can decide whether to appeal your case.

Filing The Notice To Appeal

Next, you must file a notice of your intention to appeal the case within 49 days of your case’s conclusion. Failing to notify both the Court of Appeals and the trial court can be grounds for dismissing your appeal.

Submitting The Record

The record consists of court orders, transcripts, and other documents from the trial court that the appeals court will use to decide your case. You will need to identify what records the trial court should send to the Court of Appeals. If the record does not include all the necessary documents, the court may be unable to decide your appeal.

Filing Briefs And Presenting Arguments

Once the Court of Appeals has received the record, you will file a legal brief with the appellate court within six weeks. In this brief, you explain the mistakes you believe happened in your case and how the law says these mistakes should be addressed. The other party will then have a chance to file their brief and respond to your arguments.

Sometimes, your attorney will present your arguments in person to the appeals court in an open hearing. This typically occurs when the issues are complicated or if the court has questions about the law or facts not easily answered by the record. 

Receiving The Decision

Once the appeals court has received both parties’ briefs and heard any arguments presented, it will issue a decision. Depending on the issues raised, the appeals court can agree with the verdict, send the case back to the trial court to address specific issues, or overturn the verdict entirely and order a new trial.

What To Consider Before Appealing Your Injury Case

Before appealing your case, consider whether doing so is in your best interests. No one wants to lose their personal injury claim; however, there are times when the disadvantages outweigh the potential benefits of appealing your case. Some key factors to consider include:

Knowing The Difference Between Legal Errors Vs. Factual Errors Is Key

Appeals are best suited for situations where the trial court made an erroneous legal ruling. Conversely, appeals are less successful when challenging a factual finding the court made. If you disagree with what witnesses the court believed or the evidence a jury found convincing, you may have a more challenging time succeeding on appeal.

Appellate judges can review legal questions without making any deference to what the trial court has concluded. However, they will not re-question witnesses or receive new evidence. Instead, appellate courts usually defer to the lower court on whether witnesses were believable or how convincing the facts were. 

The Appeals Process Takes Time

The appeals process is not necessarily quick. Once you file your appeal, it can take about a year before the court makes its decision. A favorable ruling often means your case will be returned to the trial court for additional hearings. In short, it could take considerable time before the error in your case is corrected.

Winning an Appeal Does Not Mean Receiving Compensation

Rarely will an appeals court award you compensation when the trial court did not, even if it finds that mistakes occurred. Instead, the appeals court will likely identify the error, provide instructions to the trial court, and direct that a new hearing or trial take place. 

Thus, there is still the chance that you might not receive compensation, even if you succeed with your appeal.

Contact Bachus & Schanker For Help With Your Injury Claim Now

Succeeding with an appeal requires the know-how and experience of a personal injury lawyer. At Bachus & Schanker, we understand what you’re going through. Our personal injury attorneys have the talent and resources to represent you at all stages of your claim, including at trial and on appeal. 

Let us help you fight for the compensation you deserve after an accident.

Citations:

Appeals Quick Guide.

Colo. R. App. P. 4.

How the Appellate Process Works.