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Stages of an Indiana Personal Injury Case (Part A)

When you suffer serious injury in an accident because of the negligence of another, you may need to open an Indiana personal injury case. The claims and lawsuit processes can be lengthy, frustrating and time consuming when it comes to obtaining fair compensation for your injuries and losses.

You do not file a lawsuit unless your personal injury claim with your insurance company is denied or the settlement value is too low. This article covers the basic stages of the Indiana personal injury case process so you can know what to expect. You may increase your chances of a successful outcome by working with an Indianapolis personal injury attorney to guide you through these steps.

Filing Your Indiana Personal Injury Case

The first step you will take in the process from claim to award is to file your Indiana personal injury case. It is highly advised that you have an Indianapolis personal injury attorney working with you, as you will be filing papers with the court and attending hearings. Your attorney can assist you through the paperwork, hearings and final decision stages for your case.

The initial court papers in an Indiana personal injury case include the:

• Complaint/Petition - this is the outline of the case, including parties involved, accident details and damages sought.
• Summons - the official notice to the defendant that they are being sued for the damages you incurred.
• Answer - the defendant's reply to the summons; in which they accept the charges, deny them or claim there is not enough information to make a decision.

There are some additional documents which may be needed in an Indiana personal injury case.

Your Indianapolis personal injury attorney can help with the following documents:

• Counterclaim - filed when the defendant also has a claim against you, arising from the same accident.
• Reply to Counterclaim - your response to the counterclaim, which is also in the form of admittance, denial or claim of lack of information.
• Cross-claim - another claim of negligence which occurs when there are multiple parties involved, such as in a multi-car accident, when there are claims against certain drivers but not others.
• Third-party Complaint - when a defendant being sued can cite responsibility of another party for your injuries, such as a manufacturer of a defective product.

Once the proper paperwork is filed and the parties involved are made aware of your Indiana personal injury case, your Indianapolis personal injury attorney can begin the process of discovery to help support your case.

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