CHAPTER FIVE

LITIGATION

Who Answers the Complaint?

After the complaint is filed and served, the defendant’s insurance company will usually assign the matter internally to an employee called a litigation claims adjuster, who will oversee the claim. This person’s job is to try to resolve your claim before trial, or handle the claim in a way that helps the insurer at trial. The insurance company may take extra steps to resolve your claim after the lawsuit is filed, so you may be able to settle at this stage. However, for this chapter, we will assume that you will not settle right away.

The insurance company will also assign one of its own lawyers, or hire an outside lawyer, to represent the defendant in court. The first task for this lawyer is to prepare a document called an answer to file with the court. The answer will either admit or deny the allegations of your complaint; it may even raise additional issues such as that other parties are at fault for your injuries and should be added to the lawsuit. The answer may also set forth any defenses the defendant is planning to use in the case that explain why he or she is not responsible for your injuries.

It is only after the answer is filed that a trial in your case will be scheduled. If the defendant fails to file an answer at all or breaks a rule when filing it, you can ask the court to simply declare you the winner by asking for a "default judgment." This is not common. A "default judgment" is like a sports team forfeiting a game because it never showed up to the playing field.