What Is the Complaint in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

The complaint is the first document filed in civil court in a personal injury lawsuit. It lets the court—and soon after, the "defendant" who is being sued—know that the injured person intends to seek a legal remedy for their losses. In this article, we'll look at the different parts of a personal injury complaint.

What Does a Personal Injury Complaint Look Like?

A personal injury complaint is typically made of separate, numbered paragraphs, each containing one statement or allegation related to the case. The complaint usually identifies:

• the injured person (the "plaintiff") and where they live
• the basic facts surrounding the plaintiff's injuries
• the person or entity being sued (the "defendant") and where they live or are located
• the legal basis for the complaint (including specific claims for negligence and any other allegations the plaintiff is making against the defendant), and
• the amount of compensation ("damages") the plaintiff intends to ask for.

Civil complaints, like most court filings, are subject to relatively strict standards when it comes to what they should look like and what they should include, but these standards vary from state to state, and from court to court. This is a big reason why it's so important to understand and follow your specific court's rules. A local personal injury attorney will be on familiar ground here.

What Is a "Form" Complaint in a Personal Injury Case?

In some states' civil courts, even in personal injury cases the plaintiff can utilize a "form" complaint put out by the court or a judicial council in the state. These forms let the plaintiff check off certain boxes (including some that contain pre-printed allegations) while supplying specific information like the date of the underlying incident and the defendant's name.

Sample Personal Injury Complaint

To get an idea of what a completed version of a form personal injury complaint looks like, check out this sample personal injury complaint (from the California Judicial Branch).

What Are the Different Parts of a Personal Injury Complaint?

Let's take a closer look at some key sections of a typical personal injury complaint.

"Jurisdictional Allegations" in a Personal Injury Complaint

The opening paragraphs of a personal injury complaint typically explain why you're filing your complaint in this particular court or jurisdiction. Where a complaint is filed depends on where an injury occurred, where you live, and many other factors spelled out in state statutes or court rules, which are often cited in these opening lines. These are often called "jurisdictional allegations." An example would be something like:

Both Plaintiff and defendant reside and do business in the County of X, State of Y, and as such jurisdiction in this court is appropriate.

Personal Injury Complaint "Factual Allegations"

This is the plaintiff's opportunity to tell their version of how their injury occurred. While this section is framed as a simple recitation of facts, it's typically where the plaintiff starts laying the groundwork for the defendant's fault for the underlying accident.

It's important that the facts surrounding the actual injury are included in the complaint, so those facts can be interpreted in the right context. Providing too few or too many factual allegations can act as a handcuff later, as the lawsuit progresses. Factual allegations should tell your story without boxing you in or allowing the defendant too much breathing room.

An example of a factual allegation would be:

Plaintiff Smith, unaware that the Defendant ABC Grocery had recently mopped the aisle, and that its employees had carelessly neglected to cordon off or even mark the affected area, slipped and fell on the wet floor.

"Causes of Action" in a Personal Injury Complaint

In the context of a personal injury complaint, a "cause of action" is an allegation setting out the legal basis on which the plaintiff feels they're entitled to damages. There can be one cause of action in a personal injury complaint, or several. Causes of action may also be called "counts," with each count representing a different theory of recovery under the law.

Most personal injury complaints include, at a minimum, a cause of action or count of negligence. Other counts depend on the circumstances of the injury. Specific examples include medical malpractice and wrongful death.

What does the spelling out of a cause of action look like in a personal injury complaint? It usually means taking the facts of the underlying incident and applying them to the elements of the cause of action, to make a basic argument for why the defendant should be held liable for the plaintiff's injuries.

Let's look at an example of a cause of action for negligence that might be found in a personal injury complaint based on injuries suffered in a car accident:

Defendant had a legal duty to operate his vehicle in a reasonably safe manner, with respect to Plaintiff and to all others on the road. Defendant breached this legal duty by entering the intersection of First and Elm after the traffic signal had been red for several seconds, striking Plaintiff's vehicle when it was lawfully in the intersection on a green light. Defendant's breach of legal duty was the actual and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries, which include (but are not limited to) a concussion, fractured clavicle, and lacerations.

What Comes After the Personal Injury Complaint?

After the personal injury complaint is filed with the court—and served on the defendant along with a summons—the defendant will file an "answer" to the plaintiff's complaint, and the lawsuit will proceed from there. Get more details on the stages of a personal injury lawsuit. And for information that's tailored to your situation, it may be time to contact a personal injury lawyer.