4 Steps You Need To Know When Filing A Lawsuit

Filing a lawsuit is a costly affair; therefore, should only be done in those cases when you are unable to sort out the matters by other means. However, you can fall into situations where it is not possible to settle things out of court. When you are wronged and need legal assistance to sort things out, you must know the right procedure to follow.

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Some common cases to file a lawsuit could include a personal injury, fraud, motor vehicle accidents or other criminal offences. Here are 4 steps that will help you sue the other party:

Deal with the documents

You will be required to fill up several documents like a complaint, a cover sheet for the civil case and a summons to file a lawsuit. In these documents, you will need to include details of the case with any facts to support your viewpoint and a cause of action. It is advised that you check the format of these documents online. You might want to hire an attorney to help you out with all the documentation and the case.

You can look up online to find the right lawyer to represent your case. There are various websites where you will be able to locate an attorney in your area. For example: type ‘find attorney for accident injury case online’ and you will get a list of lawyers that match your requirements.

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Make a complaint

File all the documents at the courthouse after checking the procedure with the court clerk. Even though you might have checked the formats online, you must check at the court of what formats they allow. This will ensure that the complaint is filed without any hindrances. Usually there is also a fee to file a complaint. Before submitting the documents and filing the complaint, keep 2 copies of all the documents; one for you and the other one for the defendant.

Notify the defendant

Once you have filed the complaint, you will have to serve the defendant with a copy of the documents. You must check at the court of the eligibility of the person who can serve the documents to the defendant. Usually the person will have to be at least the age of 18 and not related to the case in order to serve the documents. The case will only move to the next course once you notify the defendant that he/she has been sued by you.

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Get a hearing date

The court should take the case forward and inform you of the further actions once the defendant has been served. Your lawyer should be able to assist you with the further steps once you get the hearing date from the court. A competent lawyer should be able to get the hearing in your favor even if the defendant’s lawyer tries to win the case over.

Conclusion

It is not the wisest thing to file a lawsuit without hiring a competent lawyer as this costs money to both the parties. Make sure you hire a credible lawyer who can turn things in your favor keeping in mind how the opponent’s lawyer would try his/her bits.