Why would someone that has submitted a claim to a car insurance company decide to file a car accident lawsuit? It could be that their claim was denied. Perhaps the company has alleged that the individual that tried to file the claim was responsible for the accident. By filing a lawsuit, the person that had submitted the claim could fight the company’s allegation.
Initial steps
• File a complaint with the court. In some states that filing procedure concerns the presentation of a petition.
• Serve the defendant with a copy of the filed complaint
• Serve the defendant with a summons
• Provide the court with proof of the fact that you have served the defendant with the required papers, the complaint and the summons.
• Be ready to wait for an answer. The defendant has 30 days in which to reply. The defendant can reply by filing an answer with the court. That reply could contain a reference to a legal defense.
What would it mean if the defendant had filed a legal defense?
That would indicate that the defendant planned to pursue a countersuit. That could suggest that there was some piece of evidence that had escaped your notice. Fortunately, the next step in the process should help you to learn about that same piece of evidence.
What happens after those initial steps?
Before a trial gets scheduled, a discovery session takes place. That is a time when the lawyers for both sides have a chance to question the plaintiff and other relevant witnesses. In other words, the defendant could also be questioned.
The discovery session provides the lawyers with the chance to learn about any new piece of evidence. The defendant’s testimony should offer details on the legal defense that was mentioned in the reply received by the court. The chances are good that those details would include some reference to a new item of evidentiary material.
What happens after the discovery session?
The answer to that question would depend on the decision made by the disputing parties. Those 2 parties could choose to settle at that point. If they did not, then a trial would be scheduled.
What happens during the trial?
There, the attorney for each party presents and opening argument. Then each Personal Injury Lawyer in Richmond Hill gets a chance to question witnesses. There might be an expert witness. There could also be a presentation of various displays, in order to supplement the witnesses’ statements.
A judge or jury would then issue a decision. That decision would rule on whether or not the plaintiff should be granted permission to file a claim. Of course, any party that disagreed with the court’s ruling would have a right to seek an appeal.