If you have filed a personal injury claim, and you have encountered a roadblock, while trying to negotiate a settlement, then you might want to file a lawsuit. Whenever you find yourself in such a position, you need to know how to proceed.
The first step in the process
• Prepare a complaint, a document that is sometimes referred to as a petition
• You may need to file a summons, depending on the regulations in your legal jurisdiction.
• Be ready to pay the filing fee.
What information should go in the complaint?
The beginning of the complaint should contain the factual basis for the filed lawsuit.
After that, the claimant/plaintiff needs to spell out his or her identity. Then, the plaintiff must state the identity of the defendant. In accordance with the legal process, the court system where the petition will be filed has to be stated in that same petition/complaint. A legal decision made in one legal jurisdiction does not always apply in a different jurisdiction.
The second section of the document needs to present the legal theories that are able to support your allegations. Negligence is the name for the theory that relates to most personal injury lawsuits. Injury Lawyer in Richmond Hill knows that plaintiffs sue a party that has been shown to be both careless and neglectful. Once you have listed those legal theories, then you must offer details on the facts of your case. Finally, you need to state the amount of money that you are asking, as compensation for the damages that you have suffered.
Steps 2 through 4
Obtain a copy of the complaint and the summons, as well, if you needed to submit a summons. Serve copies of the complaint and summons on the defendant. Complete that action within 30 days of the time when you filed the complaint. Also, be sure to obtain proof of the fact that you have served the defendant with those copies. The court will not allow your lawsuit to proceed, unless it has that proof.
Check on the statute of limitations, so that you manage to complete the above steps before the stated deadline. If you find that you need to seek more information, ask the court what alternative documents you can file. In that way, you should preserve your right to sue. Wait for the defendant’s response. That response could take one of 3 different forms.
Potential form of the defendant’s response
1) A document that contains the answer to each of the allegations stated in the complaint.
2) A refusal to either acknowledge or deny the allegations
3) The filing of a special motion, a motion to dismiss. Defendants take that action if the plaintiff has insufficient grounds for the presented allegations.