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The purpose of this post will be to give the reader a general understanding of the highlights of personal injury litigation in the Superior Court of San Diego, California.

Please understand that my intent here is simply to give the reader a familiarity with what happens in the typical case. Personal injury litigation can vary from case to case, and although the reader may find the information here useful in litigation in other courts of California, please be advised that different jurisdictions have different local rules of court, as well as different customs and practices.

It is my opinion that most personal injury attorneys will tell you that frequently injury cases in San Diego will settle prior to the inception of litigation. This holds true especially in cases arising out of car accidents and slip and fall injuries. It is also true that other types of personal injury cases frequently settle before litigation begins. This particular blog entry, however, will concern itself with the highlights of the litigation process in those cases which do not settle and litigation begins. Please be aware that a personal injury case, even one in litigation, can settle at any time.

Litigation begins with the filing of a lawsuit and the service of that lawsuit upon the defendant(s). Most typically, if the defendant is insured, they will turn the summons and complaint over to their insurance company who will appoint a defense lawyer to defend their insured in the lawsuit. The defense lawyer will file an answer to the complaint, typically a [lnk]"general denial".

Once all parties to the lawsuit have appeared in the case the court will bring all the attorneys into court for what is known as a "Case Management Conference." As the term suggests, the court will usually schedule all future deadlines including a date for the actual trial of the case. In the interim, between the time of the defendants answer to the injury complaint and the time the court mandated that all discovery must be completed, the parties engage in what is termed as "discovery". Discovery entails such things as the parties exchanging written questions to each other (interrogatories), requests for production of documents (i.e. medical records, insurance policies, etc.), and the taking of deposition testimony from the parties, witnesses, and experts(i.e. doctors, accident reconstructions, economists, etc.)

At some point in time prior to trial the court will typically order the parties to mediation to attempt settlement of the case. This is especially true in auto accident cases. I think most personal injury attorneys in San Diego would agree that mediation of personal injury cases has a high rate of success in case settlement.

Obviously, the foregoing is meant only as a general outline for personal injury cases in San Diego County. For more specific information one would be wise to consult directly with a personal injury attorney in San Diego who is experienced in these matters.
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