Stages of A Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawsuit
As a MA personal injury lawyer, I am asked regularly about the stages of a Massachusetts personal injury case.
Whether you were injured in a Massachusetts car accident, slip and fall, or dog bite accident, the stages of a lawsuit are generally the following:
Complaint and Answer
Your Massachusetts personal injury lawyer will begin the lawsuit with the filing of the complaint, and the attorney for the insurance company will file an answer. The answer must be filed at the court where the lawsuit was filed within 20 days of the date that service of process was made on the defendant.
Discovery
There are three main stages of discovery: interrogatories, request for production of documents, and depositions.
Interrogatories is another word for written questions sent by the defense attorney to your attorney, that are answered with the help of your attorney. You and your attorney must sign this document.
A Request for Production of documents is a list of documents the defense attorney is requesting. Your attorney can handle this for you.
A deposition is basically a process where you are sworn in under oath and must answer questions from the defense attorney. Your attorney will be at your side during the entire deposition. The average deposition lasts 2-3 hours.
At or near the close of discovery your attorney will attend a pre-trial conference with the insurance company’s lawyer and a trial date will be set.
Trial
Most cases do settle but if yours does not a trial but jury will be the final stage of your case. Trial will be in the courthouse where the personal injury lawsuit was filed. Trial will either be in the district court or superior court.
MA Personal Injury Lawyer Christopher Earley Can Help You
Contact us today if you would like help with your
personal injury case. MA personal injury lawyer Christopher Earley only gets paid if your case settles.
We are here to help you and always offer free consultations, and we also handle workers compensation claims, too.