PERSONAL INJURY  LAW

       "Personal injury" covers a wide variety of injury to the person.It includes not only injury to the body, and death, but injury to the Psyche, or mental and emotional injury as well.  Although it is common practice to belittle the concept of receiving money compensation for emotional injury, the law provides that relief and generally money damages constitute the only form of remedy which can be awarded.  Medical bills can be paid. Lost wages can be determined exactly and awarded.  A damaged automobile can be repaired or replaced.   But there is no easy means of measuring, or compensating, for pain and other mental suffering.

       Personal injury law is one of the basic types of law practiced by most law firms.  Beginning a law suit by filing a complaint in court is a fairly fundamental task which can ostensibly be done with very little creative effort or expertise.  However, the simplicity of the process masks the tremendous effort which should be exerted at all stages of the litigation.  Initially, long before any complaint is filed, the source and extent of injury need to be examined thoroughly. If more than one person or entity is involved, the actions of all potential tortfeasors need to be scrutinized.  Witnesses need to be located and examined early in the process. Tangible items of evidence need to be secured.   Sometimes this investigatory process will prove to be more involved and longer in time than the eventual litigation process after a complaint is filed.  By the time a lawsuit if filed, most of the essential questions should already have been answered.

        Once the lawsuit is filed, the court will prescribe a period of "discovery" in which both sides of the lawsuit will attempt to learn the full details of the other side's case. The law today favors this concept of "open discovery" on the theory that if both sides are familiar with what lies in store at trial, there will be a better chance of settlement.

       Exploring settlement is also an essential part of the personal injury process.  Ideally, if sufficient preparation is made, settlement can come early in the litigation process, sometimes even before a lawsuit is filed.  In all cases the client needs to be informed and educated on the various alternatives to lawsuits, including such processes as mediation, arbitration, and mock trials.

        Personal injury litigation is a very expensive process. Very often expert witnesses need to be hired either on the issue of liability, or extent of damages, or both.  Usually depositions should be taken of the major witnesses and of witnesses who may not be available for trial.  Travel may be involved in all of these processes.  It is not uncommon to expend tens of thousands of dollars in the discovery process leading up to the trial, and the trial itself may entail considerable more expense.  Because of this tremendous expense, most persons involved in personal injury litigation prefer to enter into a "contingent fee" contract with their attorney, whereby the attorneys only receive a fee if there is a settlement in excess of costs expended. Moulton Bellingham has many years of experience in personal injury litigation, and has been involved in hundreds, if not thousands, of personal injury lawsuits.  Some of these have involved verdicts or settlements exceeding millions of dollars.   At all stages, the attorneys are well trained to handle personal injury litigation.

       The lawyers at Moulton Bellingham, besides having broad experience in prosecuting personal injury actions, also maintain one of the largest defense practices in the State of Montana. The firm represents many varied insurance companies and product manufacturers in the defense of lawsuits.  Some of these include State Farm Insurance, General Motors, Deere & Co., Royal Insurance, Farmers Insurance Group, Toyota, Honda, CNA Insurance, the Montana Municipal Insurance Authority, and GEICO Insurance.