Personal Injury Litigation in Pennsylvania

What is involved in personal injury litigation process?

Personal injury litigation is a process that, depending on the complexity of your case, is often difficult to litigate and demands the skills of an experienced attorney to ensure the best possible outcome.

The following information may help you understand the process of seeking damages for your Pennsylvania personal injuries. Personal injury litigation in Pennsylvania follows several predictable steps. What is unpredictable is the time involved in moving through each step.

Step one — File a complaint

Your lawsuit begins when your lawyer formally files a complaint on your behalf. The complaint is effectively a written statement from you, the plaintiff, describing the key components of the case, including—

• Who the plaintiff is (you)
• Who the responsible parties are (the defendant)
• A description of the incident
• A description of your injuries, damages and losses

The defendant named in the lawsuit may be one or many parties and may include—

• The person who injured you
• His/her employer
• The company or property owner where the injury occurred
• Any other party responsible for causing your injury

Step two — Await the defendant's answer

After your attorney files the complaint, the defendants have a set period of time in which to respond legally to the complaint.

Step three — Perform case discovery

After the pleadings phase, the discovery phase begins, during which—

• Both parties collect statements from the plaintiff and the defendants.
• Both parties are deposed — give their testimonies under oath. These depositions are recorded.
• Each party exchanges supporting documents related to the accident.
• An experienced PA accident lawyer can sometimes strengthen your case by involving expert witnesses whose opinions are often entered into the case record as fact.

Step four — Negotiate a settlement or go to court

When the discovery phase wraps up, it is common that a lawsuit stops before going to trial if either party makes an acceptable motion to settle the case out of court. It is also common that the defense attorney's first settlement offers do not reflect a fair or reasonable settlement amount.

In such instances, as your counsel, we may advise you to reject their initial offer and allow us to propose a more favorable offer. When we are able to secure a reasonable and acceptable settlement at this stage, the defendants agree to pay damages to you and you, in exchange, agree to drop the lawsuit regarding the injury. If no acceptable agreement is reached, your case proceeds to court where a judge or jury will decide who is at fault and how much they must pay.

Personal Injuries in Pennsylvania: How We Can Help