Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit

A personal injury lawsuit begins by filing a set of documents with the court, and serving those papers on the defendant.

To explain the basis for your lawsuit, you will need to prepare and file a complaint (sometimes referred to as a "petition"). The complaint is a formal legal document which identifies the legal and factual basis for your personal injury lawsuit.



After a personal injury accident, you may be asking yourself, “How much should I ask for a personal injury settlement?” Victims rightfully want to know the value of their claim. One of the ways that you might try to determine the value of your claim is based on average personal injury settlements.

The range of possible settlement values vary, and a lawyer can help you better estimate the amount of your settlement based on the circumstances in your specific situation. Here’s what you should know about average personal injury settlement amounts in California.

Plaintiffs who file a personal injury claim in California must be aware of the various limitations of personal injury claims in the state. Being fully aware of this information usually requires a thorough understanding of civil procedure in accordance with California law. Personal injury victims must ensure that they are acquainted with the following laws in order to avoid compromising their own case.

A statute of limitations is a time limit in which a person must take certain legal action. If the plaintiff does not take the specific legal action by this time period, his or her claim can be forever barred. In civil law, the legal action that is required is usually filing a lawsuit. In criminal law, it may be the time by which charges must be filed or an indictment be issued. There are also statutes of limitations for the repayment and collection of debts. According to Sections 335.1 and 340 of California’s Code of Civil Procedure, a personal injury victim must generally file a claim within two years of sustaining the harm. This means that the plaintiff usually has two years in which to file a personal injury lawsuit from the date of his or her injury.