Appealing a DC Car Accident Case

Not every court case goes according to plan. In certain situations, the claimant may be eligible to appeal their court case. The plaintiff can only appeal a case if there is a mistake of law that was determined or that was made by the trial court. So if the plaintiff does not like a finding of fact and determination by the jury or the judge about who is at fault or how bad the injuries were or the value of the case, that in itself is likely, not appealable.

If there was a mistake of the law, if there was a mistake about a jury instruction or maybe a potential juror should not have been stricken, then that can be appealed, but that would be the only way they can file an appeal is the mistake of law and not mistake of fact. If you need help appealing a car accident case, you should seek experienced legal help. Reach out to learn about the nuances of appealing a DC car accident case.

Can An Appeal Affect The Amount Of Recoverable Damages?

An appeal would have no effect on the value of the amount of damages recovered. If there was a case that a plaintiff that was dismissed for example and there was no recovery at trial court level and an appeal was filed by the plaintiff in the case and the dismissal was reversed and the trial court was reversed and the case in which eventually tried, the value of the case still has to be determined. It is unlikely that it would be changed at the appellate level.

However, there are some rare examples of really large judgments, meaning a lot of money recovered by the plaintiff which has been reduced on appeal. Most likely it would be sent back to the trial level in an effort to get an amount which the appellate court would seem to think is more in line with reasonable on that type of a case.

How Often Can a Case Be Appealed?

There is only a certain amount of time after a trial to file an appeal. The claimant would need to file the appeal once there’s a determination that there was a mistake made at the trial court level and as long as the appeal is filed in a timely manner, they would have their crack at providing a brief which explains the reason that the appeal was being made, but there would only be one appeal. If the case is in certain jurisdictions, once they filed an appeal and that appeal is denied or lost, they may be able to appeal to the next highest court. In the District of Columbia, there is only one appeals court, it’s just the Court of Appeals.

If The Appeal Is Lost, What Happens Next?

If the appeal is lost and there are no additional appellate court levels appeals to, then the trial court determination is final.

How DC Car Accident Attorney Could Help

A DC car accident lawyer would handle the appeal on behalf of the plaintiff if there was a mistake of law made and the client decided that they wanted to file an appeal in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the plaintiff’s attorney representing them would handle that on their behalf. It is not something that I would recommend a pro se claimant attempting on their own. It’s something that requires a lot of work. It’s rather lengthy.

A brief has to be filed with the Courts of Appeals, which has – which sight a number of cases that support the plaintiff’s argument in the appeal. It would be difficult for somebody to do who does not understand what is involved or what is being looked for. Once the appeal is filed, it would be differed by the appellate court or it would be simply dismissed on its face. You do not need to handle your case alone. Schedule a consultation to learn about appealing a DC car accident case.