Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorneys

Filing the Complaint and Going through the Discovery Process

If an early settlement cannot be reached, your accident attorney will file a “Complaint.”  The Complaint is a formal document outlining the causes of action against the party or parties who are responsible for causing your injuries and damages.  In the Complaint, your personal injury attorney will name you as the “Plaintiff,” and will name the party responsible for causing the accident as the “Defendant.” 

In the Complaint, your attorney will outline the basic facts of the case, explain why the Defendant is legally responsible for the Plaintiff’s injuries, and make a demand for relief.  Once the Complaint has been field and served upon the Defendant, the Defendant has 20 days to respond the allegations by filing an “Answer.”  At this point, an insurance defense law firm, hired by the Defendant’s insurance company, will file the Answer and respond to the Plaintiff’s allegations.  Each of the Plaintiff’s allegations must be admitted or denied.

Following the filing of the Answer, attorneys for both sides must meet to discuss possible settlement and to set a schedule for the upcoming process of “discovery.”  Discovery is the process by which your accident attorney gathers further proof of your personal injury case.  In Nevada, the discovery process is most usually governed by the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure. 

Remember, as the Plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit, it is your attorney’s job to prove every element of your case by a preponderance of the evidence.

Your accident attorney has several discovery tools that allow him to gather evidence and prove your injury claims during the process of “discovery.”  These discovery tools include the following:

Interrogatories: Questions that the Defendant must answer and verify under oath.  These may include a question asking for the Defendant’s account of the accident.

Requests for Admission: Requests that the Defendant admit certain facts relevant to the resolution of your case.  These may include asking the Defendant to admit that he ran a red light, or that he was cited by Las Vegas Metro Police for speeding or following too closely, thereby causing the accident.

Requests for Production of Documents:  Requests for written documents.  These requests are often issued in conjunction with the other written discovery requests above and ask the responding party to provide any and all written documents to substantiate the answers given.

Depositions: Interviews under oath of parties and other witnesses.  Depositions may last for several hours and are transcribed for later reference and use.  Your accident injury attorney will ask the witness, known as the “deponent,” several questions addressing all areas of concern to your injury case.  A reporter will type every word spoken by your attorney, the insurance company’s attorney, and the deponent, into a written transcript, which either party may later reference and use.

In addition to the above tools, your injury attorney will seek to further investigate your case by continuing to collect evidence and medical records, and by speaking with potential witnesses, including doctors who may testify as your treating physician.

Keep in mind that the Defendant’s insurance defense law firm has these same discovery tools at their disposal.  Accordingly, you will be asked to answer interrogatories and other written discovery requests, and will most likely be deposed.  An experienced injury attorney can help prepare you for this and will be with you every step of the way.

This is not a process you want to go through with alone or with an inexperienced attorney.  The attorneys at Oronoz Injury Law are experienced in the process of a Personal Injury Lawsuit and can help you get fair compensation for your injury.  Call us today for a free consultation at 702-878-2889 or reach us via the intake form on this website.