It is not unusual for Buffalo personal injury lawsuits to be decided through a bifurcated trial. Generally, a judge has authority under New York State law to “split up” the issues in a personal injury lawsuit or other court case if he or she finds it would be helpful to the jury.
In personal injury cases, this usually means that the “negligence” portion of the trial will be heard separately from the issues of injury and damages. While bifurcated trials used to be unusual, changes in the law now encourage splitting up of the issues if it will make the case easier for the jury to understand and help resolve the case. The logic behind this is that if the jury does not find the defendant negligent, no court time will have been spent hearing about the injuries. On the other hand, if the defendant is found negligent, the parties may be able to agree on the amount owed in damages without having to bring that issue to the jury – again, saving court time.
Not all cases, however, should be bifurcated. In many personal injury lawsuits, evidence regarding the injuries is relevant to determining issues related to negligence. For example, the seriousness of the injuries in a motor vehicle accident may give the jury some idea of the force of the impact. An experienced personal injury attorney will carefully consider the circumstances of a case when determining whether to seek bifurcation or argue against it.
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