Steps to Filing a Lawsuit

Answer:

When clients come to see us for their Georgia personal injury cases, one thing they want to know is what the process for filing a lawsuit is. Filing a lawsuit is a process that is undertaken by the attorney without a lot of involvement for the client, other than providing us with the factual background of the case. The first thing we have to do in evaluating a claim is find where the defendant is living so that we know in which county the case can be filed. In Georgia, the case has to be filed – when there is an individual driver – in the county in which that driver resides.

The next thing we do is file the case with the court through electronic filing and prepare a summons that is served with the lawsuit on the defendant. The summons and lawsuit is either served on the person directly by a professional process server or a police officer working for the county. After the lawsuit has been personally served on the defendant, the clock starts running on the case; the remainder of the issues involving the lawsuit have to occur within a specific period of time. If you have any questions about service of a lawsuit or the filing of a lawsuit in general, please feel free to contact us.