Filing your Truck Accident Lawsuit

Filing suit in your truck accident case is a big step. When you file suit, your case changes from what may have been a negotiation with the trucking company’s insurance carrier to a more formal procedure governed by court rules and law.  Major decisions may be made by judges and jurors rather than you, your truck crash attorney and the adjuster or lawyer for the truck insurance company. Your case will usually be controlled by a combination of the law of the state in which your truck crash happened and the procedure and evidence rules of the court in which your lawsuit is filed. Some cases may have additional special requirements.

Prerequisites

In many truck accident cases, there are no formal requirements to comply with before filing your lawsuit. In some cases a good truck accident lawyer, may send a “demand” to the responsible driver’s truck insurance company before filing suit. The demand will often be accompanied by documentation of your claim like the crash report, medical records and bills. The demand can set the stage for settlement negotiations which may result in a settlement, making a truck accident lawsuit unnecessary.

Formal prerequisites to filing suit exist for some truck accident claims. One example is a claim against the United States Government for injuries which occurred in a truck accident with a federal vehicle. In this case, the Federal Tort Claims Act has special requirements for filing an administrative claim with the appropriate Federal agency before the injured person may file a lawsuit.

Laws governing truck crash cases vary widely across the United States. There are specific rules in certain special circumstances, as the example involving the U.S. Government above shows. Therefore, it is difficult to state generally whether or not there are prerequisites to filing a lawsuit in your truck crash claim without having information specific to both your case and the law which controls your truck wreck case. Therefore, it is best to check with a knowledgeable, experienced truck accident attorney to determine what it, if any prerequisites exist, to filing suit in your truck wreck case.

Time Limits

There are typically time limits on  truck accident injury claims. These are often called the “statute of limitations”. From a practical standpoint, what the statute of limitations typically means is that your truck accident lawsuit must be filed within the time specified by the applicable statute of limitations or your truck wreck suit is subject to being dismissed. Procedural rules may also have requirements beyond simply filing the lawsuit to fully meet deadline requirements of the statute of limitations. If the statute of limitations and other related requirements are not met your truck accident case be dismissed for failure to meet the time requirements without any consideration of the merits of your truck wreck claim.

Statutes of limitations often contain a variety of exceptions. Some examples are if the injured person is a minor or is in jail or prison. These exceptions and what, if any additional time they allow to file a truck accident lawsuit are very specific to the laws and court decisions of the relevant jurisdiction. Because of the potential complexity of determining and complying with the statute of limitations requirements and the possible loss of your truck accident claim for not meeting these, seeking advice about from a skilled and knowledgeable truck wreck lawyer about the applicable time limits, as soon as possible after your truck crash is highly recommended.

Where to File Suit

Truck accident lawsuits are often filed in the county, circuit or district court for the county in your which the truck accident occurred. Depending on local law, in some situations, a truck accident case may be filed in a different district, circuit or county court. In some limited circumstances, truck accident lawsuits may also be filed in federal court. Requirements for filing a case in federal court typically are that either federal law creates the basis for the claim or that the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) are citizens of different states and there is more than $ 75,000 at issue. Deciding which court to file your truck accident case in can involve an evaluation of which courts the case may be filed in and then determining which one would likely be most advantageous given the available options and the specifics of your truck crash case.

Filing your case

Formally filing your truck accident lawsuit in court typically begins with filing a document, often called a “complaint” or “petition” with the court. Some things typically included in a truck accident complaint or petition are a description of why the court has jurisdiction in the case, the location of your truck accident and a summary of what happened, why and how the driver of the other truck is at fault and responsible, a brief description of your injuries, medical treatment and expenses and a claim for damages. 

Depending on court procedure rules and decisions this document may be a very simple basic statement of your claim, or may be much more detailed. Typically, courts charge a “filing fee” to file your case which varies widely from court to court. When you file your truck accident case is filed other papers such as a “cover sheet” may also be required. 

For hundreds of years lawyers filed paper documents in court. Some courts still allow the filing of paper documents. In other courts, for example, the federal courts, cases are now typically filed an electronic format. This usually involves filing documents in PDF format through the court’s electronic filing system. So depending on which court your truck accident lawsuit is filed in it may be filed on paper or in electronic format.

Service of Process

When your truck wreck lawsuit is filed, the court clerk will typically provide you or your truck accident lawyer, one or more copies of the petition or complaint which have been stamped as received by the court. The clerk of the court will also typically issue a “summons”. This is an official court document which notifies the defendants that they have been sued and have a certain number of days to respond to the suit typically by filing an “answer” or other document.

The court is usually required to have “jurisdiction” over the case to have the power to hear your truck crash case and award you damages. “Serving” the defendant with the petition or complaint and summons is typically one of the requirements for the court to obtain jurisdiction. One common method of serving the defendant in a truck accident case is by having a sheriff or an authorized process server deliver the documents to the defendant(s) personally. Court rules and decisions govern how these documents are to be served and can vary widely. In some cases not serving the papers properly can ultimately result in your case being dismissed. Because the requirements for doing this properly can be technical and the consequences of not doing it right can be significant, it is best to have a competent, experienced litigation attorney handle this or advise you about it.

By fully complying with all of the laws, procedural rules and court decisions governing the prerequisites for filing suit, time limitations, jurisdictional requirements, pleading and case filing requirements and service of process requirements your truck accident lawsuit should be off to a successful start.