What Is Process For Filing Personal Injury Lawsuit?

The legal system designed that process so that the plaintiff would have a means for informing the court and defendant about the basis of the plaintiff’s case. At the same time, the procedure for filing a lawsuit helps to guarantee a timely accomplishment of the process’s goals.

Initial steps in procedure

Plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney serves court with complaint: This must be done before the deadline, as given in the statute of limitations.

–Complaint should state the basis for the lawsuit
–By the same token, it should explain the court’s jurisdiction
–In addition, it needs to give the legal theories behind the plaintiff’s allegations. The theories of interest in a personal injury lawsuit concern the concept of negligence. The court requires evidence that supports all 4 of the recognized elements of negligence. Personal injury lawyer in Cambridge knows that courts can reject any complaint that lacks evidence for all elements.
–Demand for payment of compensation belongs at end of complaint, along with amount expected.

Some states also require the filing of a summons.All states require the payment of a filing fee. That normally falls in the range of $100 to $400.

Steps that follow the payment of a fee

The plaintiff must arrange for someone to serve a copy of the complaint and summons on the defendant. That step should be carried out within the 30 days that follow the initial steps. Yet, plaintiffs are allowed to request an extension, if their efforts have failed to ensure successful delivery of those copies in the 30-day time period.

Without delivery to the defendant of the copied complaint and summons, the process for filing a personal injury lawsuit cannot be called complete. In other words, accomplishment of that specific task is an essential part of the procedure that was created by the legal system. It gives the court jurisdiction over the defendant.

Why should plaintiffs care whether or not a given court has jurisdiction over the person that is supposed to receive a summons? Plaintiffs should care, because, if a court lacks such jurisdiction, then it has no right to issue an order that has been directed at the same person (the defendant). Defendant responds to summons in one of 2 ways.

–Some defendants simply answer each of the allegations; each answer would take the form of an admission or a denial.
–Some defendants respond by filing a motion to dismiss the allegations.

Would a motion to dismiss automatically cancel the lawsuit?

A judge would study both that motion and the complaint to which it had been a response. The same judge would then rule as to whether or not the court would agree to dismiss the case that was linked to the lawsuit.

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