When pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, the main focus is on damages and evidence. If you were injured in a car accident in New Bedford, chances are you are worried about your medical bills, lost wages, among other damages. A good New Bedford personal injury lawyer will be working hard to collect evidence pertaining to your case. While all these factors will impact your case significantly, there are other technical considerations that can also affect your case.
For starters, not every court has the power to hear and decide on your personal injury lawsuit. Not only can the legal concept of venue control and jurisdiction affect whether you win but it can also create a huge problem for you. In this article, we discuss the basics of venue and jurisdiction. Both of these factors will determine where you will file your civil action. We will examine the different requirements and how the law measures them.
Jurisdiction Definition
The court will first ascertain whether it has jurisdiction over your case and everyone involved. This is known as personal jurisdiction. It will also consider subject matter jurisdiction; which is basically the court’s ability to decide the course of action your case presents. If any of the two cannot be established at the beginning of your case, then your case will not proceed.
Personal Jurisdiction
The most simple definition of personal jurisdiction means that a court has the power to hear your case and make a decision concerning the rights of all the parties involved in your personal injury lawsuit. The first step in your lawsuit is known as the service process; whereby you serve a complaint to the parties at fault in the state where the court sits. Your personal injury lawyer will serve the complaint on your behalf. If they do not personally serve the party at fault with the complaint, the court will not be able to exercise jurisdiction over them and your case will not move forward.
On the other hand, if the party responsible for your accident is unavailable, can not be located, or is simply evading the service process, they can still be served via a public forum like a newspaper with the approval of the court. if the party at fault is not a resident in the state where they caused the accident, the courts can determine personal jurisdiction by conducting the minimum contacts test. Minimum contact is a term used in the United States Law during civil procedures. A person is considered to have minimum contacts with a state if they :
- Have contact with a person living in the forum state. The contact must be regular and significant and not just incidental or isolated
- Engage in business within that state
If the defendant is a company, then you do not have to worry about minimum contact because they already have more than what is required.
In summary, you should file a personal injury lawsuit in the state where the party at fault is located. If this isn’t possible, consider hiring the best personal injury lawyer in New Bedford who can help to determine if you can still get personal jurisdiction.
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Different state courts hear different kinds of cases so you have to be sure the court where you plan to take your case is allowed to hear your case. For instance, in Massachusetts, you cannot resolve a claim that is more than $7000 in a small claims court.
You will have to file your claim with the superior court, which has original jurisdiction in civil actions of more than $50, 000. Another example is whereby the subject matter of your case is unique to federal laws. For such cases, you will have to file your case with a federal court.
Definition of Venue
The venue is the courthouse where you will file your claim and the requirement for a venue are more flexible than that of jurisdiction. The venue should be where the defendant lives regardless of where the accident happened. You can also file a case in the state where the accident happened. If filing a case in the state where the accident happened is inconvenient for both you and the defendant, you can file a motion to have the venue changed.
Consult a New Bedford Personal Injury Lawyer
The best way to ensure everything goes smoothly is to contact a qualified personal injury lawyer who will take care of all the technical details while you focus on recovering. Get in touch with one of our lawyers at Kevin P Landry Law Offices by calling 508-999-0800 and we will evaluate your case free of charge.
