Dynamics of Appealing an Aurora Car Accident Case
Despite your best efforts, you may sometimes receive a ruling in your car accident case that seems unfair. In the event that you are unhappy with your ruling, you have the option of appealing your case. If you want to appeal your case, it is important to get in touch with a skilled car accident attorney. Your lawyer can explain the dynamics of appealing an Aurora car accident case, and help you appeal your ruling. Work a capable attorney and know that you are in good hands.
Process of Appealing a Car Accident Case
In Colorado, there are two steps for an appeal. From the trial court, they go to the Colorado Court of Appeals who will render a decision or who will decide to hear the case or not. From there, if they still believe that there is an incorrect ruling or that the matter has not been properly addressed, they can appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court and they will issue a decision and, based on that decision, they can go back down to the trial court and continue with the litigation process. If there is another appeal issue that comes up, they can go through the same process. The time varies depending on what issues are brought up. Sometimes, a case will make it all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court twice and, more often than not, most cases will just stop at the trial court level.
Duration of an Appeal
One of the dynamics of appealing an Aurora car accident case to consider is the duration of an appeal. The length of time for a motor vehicle collision case is one of the longer ones that will be put on the docket for an appeal. They are on what is called Check B, which is the ones that get addressed last. Other appeals such as criminal appeals or appeals for, let’s say, family law tend to get addressed first. Those are the circumstances that will lengthen or shorten the length of the appeal and the issue is that most motor vehicle collisions are generally going to be decided last on the docket.
What Happens if the Appeal is Lost
The individual should see if there is an issue that they could raise, in order to take the appeal to the next stage. If a person is at the Colorado Court of Appeals and there is an issue that has been presented that the defendant does not think that the Colorado Court of Appeals addressed properly or if it is a new way to maybe apply the law and they want the Colorado Supreme Court to look at it, then they can petition for certiorari then ask the Colorado Supreme Court to review it. The Supreme Court is not bound to take a case but if they do then that should be the person’s next step. The other side is if the appeal is lost, that could potentially be the end of the case.
Aspects People Should Be Aware of
One of the dynamics of appealing an Aurora car accident case that people should be aware is that it is an expensive and time-consuming process. That should not discourage anyone from appealing a case if there is an appealable issue but they are generally going to see about a year and a half to two years and the expenses for an attorney in the appeals process could easily be in excess of $25,000.
Most motor vehicle accident attorneys will work on a contingency fee basis, which means that they do not get an attorney’s fee unless we get a recovery. However, when they get into the appeals process, it changes because writing appellate briefs is a specialized thing and a lot of attorneys typically outsource that and have to pay out that appeals attorney to write the appeal so it shifts from a contingency fee to more of a retainer or an hourly billing agreement. If you wish to pursue an appeal, consult a qualified car accident lawyer that can help.
