If you have been injured in a truck accident, it can be difficult to imagine that your life will ever be "normal" again. When you consider your physical injuries, your emotional scars, your worsening financial situation due to missed work, and even more, it's easy to understand the level of misery. You may benefit from being able to visualize the light at the end of the tunnel. The road to personal injury success may be long, but it does tend to progress in a predictable manner, so read on and see what's in store for you.

1. Meet your new personal injury attorney. Be sure to get your case off to a quick start by showing up with the information your attorney will need. Bring your insurance information, any accident or police reports, and your medical records with you. In most cases, you attorney won't require any upfront money and will take your case on a contingency fee basis.

2. Demand some compensation. Before your attorney actually files suit in court, the other side will get an opportunity to be made aware of your case and what you want in terms of a settlement to keep it out of court. The demand letter serves as written notice of your intent to file suit and summarizes your damages and evidence.

3. File suit. All concerned parties will receive a copy of the suit. If your demand letter was unsuccessful, don't despair. A settlement could come at any time in the process, and statistics bear out that it usually does.

4. Discovery. This is an important part of the personal injury process, where both parties share the information and evidence they have about the case. This prevents surprises during court. One major part of discovery is the deposition. This meeting of all parties allows for the questioning, under oath, of anything pertinent to the case.

5. The trial begins. While you may be excited to finally be starting the trial, you should understand that this phase of the case often gets bogged down with postponements, hearings, motions, continuances, and other delays. Try to be patient; eventually you will receive your verdict and award.

6. Judgment. If your case is not held up on appeal, you can expect the at-fault driver's insurance carrier to cut you a check in a very short period of time.

To learn more, speak with your personal injury attorney.