Earlier this week , I wrote about the filing of the complaint . The filing of the complaint is the first step . After you file the case , the defendant must be served with a copy of the lawsuit . This is called service of process . There are several ways to do this and I will discuss this in another post . Once the defendant has beed served , they have 30 days in which to file their answer . An answer is a short pleading which either admits or denies the statements made in the complaint . The answer will also contain a statement of affirmative defenses which asserts legal theories on why they do do have to pay the claim . One example of an affirmative defenses is comparative fault . If the defendant fails to answer , you can move the court for a default judgement. Now you can see why a personal injury lawsuit takes some time . More on service of process , comparative fault , and default judgements in the near future .
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