A personal injury trial can be a long and arduous process. There are numerous hoops to jump through and plenty of legal rigmarole to endure. Personal injury trials can take a long time, but there are some cases where you can actually expedite the process. An expedited trial will move the proceedings along much more quickly than they would occur during normal circumstances. Throughout the course of this brief article, you will learn how to adequately define an expedited trial, when you can be granted an expedited trial, why you could or should expedite a personal injury case and under what terms expedition is the best.

What Is An Expedited Trial?

Expediting a trial is only an option if you are involved in a civil court case, such as a personal injury case. Essentially, an expedited trial is a streamlined case, ensuring that the proceedings run smoothly, and a verdict can be reached over the course of one day. Expedited trials still occur in a court of your peers and are essentially the same as any other civil court trial, except for the rapid pace at which they move. It is important to note that expedited trials are not actually available in all states; however, they are an absolute mainstay in others. For example, in California, expedited trials are actually far more popular than a personal injury case of regular length.

When Can I Expedite?

If your state does offer expedited trials, there are other conditions that must be met. In all cases, the plaintiff and defendant must both agree to an expedited trial. Both the defense and prosecution must agree to keep their arguments limited, as they will only have a brief time to present their cases; additionally, appeals and motions in such cases are limited.

The jury itself has a limited time to reach a decision, and there are occasions where finding a jury for a expedited trial can be difficult; in the cases, the trial will default to a normal, no frills personal injury trial.

Why Would I Expedite?

The simple answer to this question is: out of convenience for both parties. Expedited trials are the best way to move forward with proceedings, receive a "quick and dirty" verdict and, basically, move on with your life.

You should definitely proceed with an expedited trial if you are involved in a case where liability of the other party can be easily proven during the course of a case; for example, if you were struck by a drunk driver and injured.  In a drunk driving accident there is usually documentation of the other driver's arrest, as well as a police report placing them at fault for the accident. The official documentation that clearly shows a level of negligence would make it easy to prove liability. 

Due to the nature of these proceedings, an expedited trial can move forward very quickly and usually both defendant and plaintiff are willing to agree to such terms. There are also wide arrays of other cases where an expedited trial would be preferable to one of normal length. Usually, these occur simply due to an agreement between defendant and plaintiff regarding the length of the trial.

When Expedition Is Best

Expedition is best when all parties are essentially in agreement about the terms of the trial and wish for the proceedings to occur at a rapid fire pace. There really is not a "best case scenario" for expedited trials, and as such, the use of such trials is up to both parties involved, as well as the state's sanction on expedition.

Deciding on an expedited trial doesn't have to be such an ordeal. Hopefully, armed with the above information, you're ready to decide if your personal injury deserves an expedited touch. For more information about the law in your area, contact a personal injury attorney.