Your lawyer’s office should take care of the actual, formal filing of the lawsuit. Usually, you will file your case in the county where your accident occurred, or in the county where the defendant lives or does business, depending on the circumstances and the laws of your state. The county where the case is filed is sometimes called the "venue." Your lawyer can explain how these rules affect your case.

A lawsuit formally starts when you file a written complaint, a writ or a petition with the court. The complaint first describes the facts of the case, your injuries and why the person you are suing is responsible for your injuries. It then separately lists each "cause of action," which is a reason for suing, and finishes with a request for financial compensation for the injuries you have listed. It may be quite detailed, depending on your state’s requirements, but it always contains enough information to tell the defendants why they are being sued.

Along with the complaint, in some jurisdictions your lawyer will also file a summons or citation, a document that will be served to (that is, formally given to) the defendants. The summons explains how the defendants should respond to the complaint and gives the deadline to do so. As a courtesy, your lawyer may send a copy of the complaint to the defendants’ insurance company or companies.

When this complaint is filed, your lawyer will also specify whether you prefer a trial by jury or a "bench trial," (a trial in which a judge makes most of the decisions). In a jury trial, a group of randomly selected citizens from the area decides all of the questions of fact while the judge acts as a referee and resolves legal questions. By contrast, in a bench trial, a judge decides questions of fact as well as questions about the law. Bench trials are less common than jury trials. If your lawyer recommends one, he or she should be able to explain why.