Legal Allegations – Complaint

If you are injured in an accident where some else is at fault you may be eligible for compensation. Such compensation is made available by way of a personal injury lawsuit. In a personal injury lawsuit, the first document to be filed is called a complaint. This is filed by the plaintiff. This article will discuss the complaint in a personal injury lawsuit – legal allegations.

According to one source the complaint is:

“the pleading that starts a case… a document that sets forth a jurisdictional basis for the court’s power, the plaintiff’s cause of action, and a demand for judicial relief.”

Basically, the complaint is what lets the court know that the injured person is seeking legal remedy for their losses.

There are three key elements that must be found in a complaint. These elements are, allegations:

1. jurisdictional
2. factual, and
3. legal

Legal Allegations

These set out the legal bases for the recovery of damages. These are normally divided by counts; each count represents a different theory under law of recovery.

The majority of personal injury complaints include at least a count of negligence. However, other counts are included but this depends on the circumstances surrounding the injury. The legal allegations in most cases take the facts of a specific case and apply them to the legal basis of recovery. This is in order to show how a defendant should be held responsible for the injuries suffered by the plaintiff.

The count of negligence always sets out the four elements of negligence that is:

1. The duty of care
2. How the duty was breached
3. How the breach caused the injury
4. The damages suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the breach

When the personal injury complaint has been filed with the court, the next step is for the defendant to answer. Thereafter the lawsuit will proceed.

For more details on this process contact a Vinson Law Office personal injury attorney today.