Lending Aid to a Friend

If you have been a victim of a crime, the first thing that you should do is to go to the police and report the crime. They will hopefully arrest the person who is responsible for your injuries and take them to court. But, that's not all you can do. You can also file a case in civil court and try to get justice for yourself that way too. If you want to do this, then you need to talk to a personal injury attorney to help you, since your attorney will be the one who files the case for you and handles everything. If you are going to go this route, there are some things that you need to know.

The Criminal Case Doesn't Matter

One thing that you need to know is that the criminal case doesn't matter when it comes to this kind of case. You can bring your civil case whether the person was found guilty or not guilty. The reason for this is that the burden of proof is different in criminal courts vs. civil courts. In a criminal court, the prosecution has to prove their case beyond a shadow of a doubt, which means that the jury has to believe what the prosecution says with no doubts in their mind. In a civil case, the plaintiff, which is your side, only has to show that their side is reasonable. The defense bears the burden of proof, they have to prove that whatever your side is saying is wrong. 

You Only Need a Jury Majority

Not all civil cases are tried by jury. Those that do have juries will have either 6 or 12 jurors. In a criminal case, all of the jurors have to agree in order for a verdict to be declared. That doesn't have to happen in a civil case. In these cases, either 5/6 jurors or 10/12 jurors have to agree on the verdict in order for it to be finalized. That can make it easier on you because if someone has a doubt, their doubts are less likely to influence the rest of the jury and less likely to derail your case. 

If you have been the victim of a crime, you want to make sure that you are getting what you deserve. One way that you can do this is to take the perpetrator to court in a personal injury case. Talk to an attorney to see if you have a case.