The Civil Complaint is what typically starts the litigation process in personal injury cases. A Civil Complaint is filed by the injured party to start a lawsuit. It is the legal mechanism to initiate the proceedings in Court and, unless a Court Order is obtained otherwise, the Complaint is a public document. The Complaint requires the "Plaintiff", which is the injured person, to set forth their claims against the "Defendant".
The Defendant is the person, persons, or company that the Plaintiff is claiming caused the injuries and resulting damages. The Complaint will identify each party by name and address in a heading, or caption as well as in the first few paragraphs of the Complaint itself. The lawsuit Complaint will be filed in either the County Court ("Court of Common Pleas") where the incident happened or where the Defendant resides. Or, if the parties are from different states and the damages are significant enough, Federal Court.
In the lawsuit Complaint in State Court, there will be numbered paragraphs that set out the basic facts of when the incident happened, how it happened and Plaintiff's claim as to why the Defendant(s) is(are) negligent or otherwise caused the incident. Also, the Complaint will list or identify what bodily injuries the Plaintiff has suffered due to the incident. In addition to bodily injuries, other damages, if suffered, are listed. These could include lost wages, lost future earnings/lost earning capacity, medical expenses, or lost "consortium" claim of spouse.
The Complaint will also identify the legal "Counts" or causes of action. These are the legal grounds for the claims against the Defendant(s). Most personal injury Complaints will make a claim for Negligence against the Defendant(s). Others may include Strict Product Liability, or other "torts".
Plaintiffs also will plead in the Complaint a request for damages. The Pennsylvania Complaint does not require a pleading of an amount in dollars for damages. Typically, the Complaint will identify whether the damages are more or less than the limits for Arbitration. In most Counties, any personal injury case with damages of less than $50,000 is an Arbitration Matter; above $50,000 is a Trial matter. If the Complaint pleads compensation for personal injury damages less than the monetary limits for Arbitration, than the Court will put the lawsuit into its Arbitration matters. If the Plaintiff complains of damages more than the Arbitration limits, then the Plaintiff can make a request in the Complaint for a Jury Trial. This is also called a "Jury Demand".
