Understanding Your Personal Injury Case; The Complaint

In our earlier Blog, we discussed that most cases settle.  Those that don’t go into litigation, which usually starts by you filing a complaint within the statute of limitations.  The statute of limitations varies from case to case, and you should always ask your lawyer what your limitations period (deadline) is.

The complaint itself serves a number of functions.  It starts the court process and informs the Court (and the defendant) about the case. In Colorado, the Rules of Civil Procedure require a short, plain and concise statement of the facts; a statement of the type of claim or claims (negligence, breach of contract, insurance bad faith0, and a “prayer for relief (what it is you are asking for).  In most cases, you do not set forth all of your evidence in the complaint itself.  The purpose of the complaint is to give the defense enough information to understand what the case is about, and to give the Court enough information to show that, if proven, you may have a valid claim!