Personal Injury Lawsuits in Columbus: What To Know & Where To Go

Filing a personal injury lawsuit after someone has injured you or a loved one is one of the most important decisions you can make. This is your chance to recover the compensation you deserve for what happened to you — a chance to make things right and get back to the life you had.

It sounds like a no-brainer at first. But once you file the lawsuit, you are likely to encounter a mountain of questions. Where in Columbus do I file a personal injury lawsuit? What paperwork do I need? What is a summons, and how do I serve one?

Those are just a few of the questions you will face. Because this is both a critically important and highly confusing time in your life, the experienced attorneys at Kisling, Nestico & Redick have compiled a helpful guide about filing a personal injury lawsuit in Columbus.

Filing a Lawsuit in Columbus, Ohio

Below, we discuss where you file a lawsuit in Columbus, Ohio, the steps to a lawsuit, and how an attorney can help.

Where Do I File My Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Once you have your complaint or petition and filing fees put together, you will need to file the personal injury lawsuit. You can file a personal injury lawsuit with the Civil Department of the Municipal Court Clerk’s Office in Columbus, Ohio. The Civil Department is on the third floor at 375 South High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215. You can reach the department at 614-645-7220.

Steps To Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Listing every step you will have to take to file your injury lawsuit in Columbus would take pages and pages. Instead, we summarized the major steps you should be aware of. A qualified attorney can walk you through this process in more detail.

Filing a personal injury lawsuit in Columbus:

• File Your Complaint: Your complaint or petition is the document that lays out the backbone of your lawsuit. It should tell what happened and how you were hurt, how the person you are suing was at fault, and how much compensation you are asking for.
• Meet Your Deadlines: Under the Ohio personal injury statute of limitations, you have two years from the date of your accident to file your lawsuit. That’s the most critical deadline, but you will also have many smaller deadlines to meet, such as the deadline for serving the person you are suing with a summons to let them know they are being sued.
• Review the Evidence: The most crucial part of the pretrial process is the discovery period. This is when both sides review all of the available evidence and polish their arguments. After discovery, the defendant can attempt to have your case thrown out if your argument is not strong enough.
• Negotiate for a Settlement: If the case proceeds, the two sides can negotiate a settlement amount. If the other side is willing to negotiate and offers you an acceptable amount, this is where the case ends. If they will not play ball, the case proceeds to court.
• Fight in Court: This is the part where both sides present their cases in front of a jury and/or judge. Witnesses are interviewed, the evidence is presented, and then the judge or jury decides whether the defendant is actually at fault, to what degree they are at fault, and how much money they should have to pay you.

How a Columbus Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help

If you feel overwhelmed about dealing with a lawsuit, the process can be mystifying. Factor in the pain and stress you are dealing with because of your injury, and you have a near-impossible situation on your hands.

An experienced Columbus personal injury lawyer will have filed hundreds, if not thousands, of personal injury lawsuits. They will be a familiar face and name to almost everyone who works at the Civil Department. They will know what to bring and where to go.

More importantly, they will know how to build a winning personal injury lawsuit — one that maximizes your compensation and does not fall victim to the other side’s dishonest tactics. They will know which evidence to gather, where to look for critical information, how to negotiate, and how to fight and win in court.

Connect With Kisling, Nestico & Redick

Filing a personal injury lawsuit in Columbus, Ohio, is no small task. It is a big undertaking that could define years of your life. To get the compensation you are owed, you cannot waste time redoing paperwork, showing up in the wrong place, filing the wrong documents, and making legal mistakes that could cost you dearly.

You need experienced professionals to show you the way. At Kisling, Nestico & Redick, our Columbus injury attorneys have a combined 500 years of experience and a record of success in and out of court.

For a free, no-obligation consultation, call (614) 487-8669 or contact us online. There’s no risk because there’s no cost to you unless we recover compensation for you.