Part of a lawyer's job obviously is to know the law, but only an experienced lawyer knows the legal process. While individual cases vary, I will acquaint you with some general concepts that will help you understand what happens if you are hurt on the job and may have a claim not just against your employer but against "Others". For information about Workers' Compensation, you should go here.

I. Before Trial

A. Papers for Beginning the Process

A lawsuit starts when one side (the plaintiff) files papers (known as a complaint) at the circuit clerk's office. The circuit clerk is responsible for maintaining all the papers that the judge eventually will see.

The plaintiff's lawyer puts a copy of the papers in the hands of the sheriff or a private process server. The server's job is to deliver the papers to the person against whom the plaintiff brought the case. That person is known as the defendant.

After he is served, the defendant has 30 days in which to make a written response to the complaint. Both the complaint and the response (called an answer) are very general in content. They are intended only to provide the court and the parties with a broad outline of the issues.

B. Discovery

The next step in the process is for the parties to engage in pre-trial fact-finding known as discovery. Its purpose is to allow the parties to exchange information and documents.

Unlike what you may have seen on television or at the movies, very rarely are there surprise witnesses, witness-stand confessions or other dramatics. By the time the parties have completed discovery, each side should have a fairly good idea of the other side's evidence.

1. Written Discovery- Interrogatories

There are two general types of discovery, written and depositions. Written discovery includes interrogatories, which involves submitting a written list of questions to the opposing side, who must respond in writing under oath. Another branch of written discovery permits the parties to require their opponent to produce any documents relevant to the case.

2. Oral Discovery- Depositions

The lawyers conduct oral discovery before trial by way of a question-and-answer format legally referred to as taking a deposition. It works like this: A lawyer for one side informs the other lawyer that at a pre-arranged date and time, he intends to take a sworn statement from someone. This someone, known as a deponent, could be one of the parties to the case (plaintiff and defendant) or could be a non-party. On the pre-arranged date and time, a court stenographer, the lawyers, the deponent and the clients meet in a conference room (not in court and not with a judge or jury present). The court stenographer places the person being deposed (questioned) under oath.

The lawyer who asked the deponent to be present poses questions to the deponent. The stenographer records the questions and the deponent's responses and later types them up. This allows the attorneys to understand what the testimony at the trial is likely to be, or in other words, to "discover" things about the case.

3. Motions and Proper Procedures for Presenting Things to the Judge

Before the case is ready for trial, there are other steps in which the attorneys may engage from time to time such as filing motions asking the judge for some type of relief. In most instances, only the attorneys attend motion hearings.

Any time a party to a case wants to make a presentation to the judge, that party's attorney must contact the judge for a court date. A reasonable time before the court hearing, the attorney is required to provide the opposing attorney with written notice of the date and time that the attorney intends to present the matter to the judge.

It is improper for an attorney to contact a judge and ask for relief without giving the other side advanced notice and an opportunity to present a response. Since court hearings should be coordinated with the schedules of all the attorneys as well as the judge, there may be a significant delay before a lawyer can present a motion to a judge.

II. Trials

A. Jury and Bench Trials

After all the discovery and motions have been completed, a trial, which occurs in the courtroom, follows, many months or years later. It may be a trial held before a jury or a trial held in front of only a judge (known as a bench trial), depending upon the type of case and what the parties have requested.

B. Order of Presentation of Evidence

The plaintiff presents evidence first. After the plaintiff completes his presentation, the defendant has an opportunity to present his case. "Evidence" includes witness testimony (including testimony from the parties to the case) and physical items such as documents, drawings and photographs. Each witness that a side calls to the stand to testify is subject to questioning by the other side's attorney, a process known as cross-examination.

C. Jury Verdict or Judge's Decision

In a jury trial, at the conclusion of the case, the jury deliberates until it reaches a unanimous decision. That decision (verdict) is announced in open court to the parties and their lawyers. In a bench trial, except in the simplest of cases, the judge ordinarily takes the case under advisement and later provides the attorneys with a written decision.

D. A Slow Process

Due to the time required to conduct pre-trial discovery, including submitting and responding to interrogatories and document requests and taking depositions, not to mention the difficulty of obtaining available court time, cases in litigation typically do not move forward as rapidly as many litigants would prefer. The law is often a messy and slow-moving process because of the rights and protections afforded everyone.

The procedures outlined apply to the vast majority of cases that result in lawsuits. Of course, even after suit is filed, the parties may reach a settlement.

Other types of cases, such a worker's compensation arbitration, social security hearings and driver's license reinstatement matters, are somewhat different. However, the general concepts in those types of cases are the same, in that no action is ordinarily taken in the presence of the judge without all parties being given an opportunity to be heard.

III. Appeals

Anyone not satisfied with the outcome of the case has an automatic right to one appeal at the appropriate time. The important fact to keep in mind about appeals is that except in extremely rare circumstances, the appeals court does not hear any testimony or consider any evidence that was not presented during trial.

Rather, appeals are limited to the appellate court reviewing all the papers and testimony produced at the trial. The court then decides if the judge (and the jury, when applicable) followed the law.

Appeals are quite involved and require the lawyers to file written, detailed briefs and later argue those briefs before three judges of the appeals court. The entire appeal process may take 9 to 12 months to complete.

Further appeals are presented to the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court appeal is not automatic in the vast majority of cases. Whether or not to accept an appeal is entirely within the Supreme Court's discretion. It is difficult to obtain Supreme Court review.