What You Should Expect When Initiating a Massachusetts Personal Injury Claim (Part A)

Lawsuits can be stressful and emotional, regardless of whether you are initiating the suit or if you are the one being sued. It may help to ease your mind to know in advance exactly what you can expect from a Massachusetts personal injury lawsuit.

Below are the general stages of a personal injury claim in Massachusetts. These guidelines do not always proceed in this exact order and depending on the outcome of your case, you may not experience the entire list of steps. However, this can be a helpful overview of the general process of a Massachusetts personal injury lawsuit.

Meeting with Your Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawyer

Meeting with a personal injury attorney is almost always the first step in every legal process. When you meet with your Massachusetts personal injury attorney, they will interview you at length in an effort to ensure they have all of the pertinent information they need for your case.

It can be a daunting process for some victims to re-live the event that led to a personal injury claim. Your lawyer will ideally reassure you during this process, but in order to give your claim the best possible chance of success, it is important to be honest with your attorney and to answer all questions to the best of your ability.

Gathering Information and Evidence for Your Personal Injury Claim

After your initial interview, your Massachusetts personal injury attorney will begin to interview other people involved in your case. In personal injury cases, this usually begins with your insurance company, physicians who treated you, police officers involved, witnesses to your accident, or other persons who have information supporting your claims.

Initiating a Lawsuit; Initial Court Papers

If your Massachusetts personal injury lawyer feels you have a valid claim, he or she will file the necessary court papers to initiate your lawsuit. The first document filed is called a complaint, and it is filed by your attorney on your behalf. A complaint is a document that alleges all the relevant claims about your injury.

The Defendants (the person or company you are filing against), in response, will file their "answer" to the allegations you filed against them. An answer includes any defenses to your claim that could allow them to escape liability. An answer may also contain any counterclaims the defendant has against you, the plaintiff. If your personal injury claim is complicated, there may be many claims asserted back and forth between the defendant, the plaintiff, and even third parties.

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