Filing a Complaint

I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a client whom we asked to review a complaint that we are preparing to file in her case. She wanted to understand what a complaint is and why it needs to be filed in court.

To initiate a lawsuit the party bringing the lawsuit, called the plaintiff, starts the lawsuit by filing a complaint in court.

A complaint is a document that sets forth the operative facts on which a lawsuit is based and describes the legal issues on which the claim is being made.

Indiana is a notice pleading state which means the complaint does not have to describe the situation in great detail. Instead, it must state sufficient facts to put the responding party, called the defendant, on notice of the claim against them.

For ease of reference, the drafter of a complaint usually will number each paragraph. Ideally, each numbered paragraph will focus on a particular fact.

Once a defendant is served with the complaint the defendant must file an answer to the complaint.

The more precision in drafting a complaint the more the defendant will have to respond point by point to the facts outlined in the complaint.

The defendant must choose to admit or deny the facts outlined in each enumerated paragraph of a complaint.

In Indiana, the complaint must not state a specific dollar amount sought in damages.

In years gone by, some attorneys would garner publicity by filing a lawsuit seeking an outrageous sum. The newspaper would report on the complaint and identify the attorney. But, putting in any amount, especially a low amount, also could be used to limit the plaintiff’s recovery to the stated low amount.

An additional thing about a complaint that is surprising to some people, is that the complaint may set forth alternative theories of recovery or inconsistent theories of recovery.

For example, a complaint may in one count describe an injury as being due to the negligence of a defendant and in another count state that the injury was due to intentional wrongdoing by a defendant.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”