Can I Amend a Personal Injury Claim After It’s Been Filed?
Posted March 1st, 2017 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Personal Injury.
You get into a horrific accident, causing massive bone fractures. The medical bills are astronomical. The insurance company refuses to pay your personal injury claim so you decide to sue the party responsible for the accident. After filing the complaint, you find new evidence that proves the defendant was liable. Can you amend the complaint?
The short answer is yes, the court will allow your personal injury claim can be amended after it was filed. It’s important that your complaint is complete. This means you can added newly discovered facts or fix any mistakes that may have been made so your claim can be successful.
To amend a complaint, all your lawyer will need to do is make a motion to permit an amendment to a pleading. This may involve a court hearing where each side needs to argue whether the amendment should be added to the case.
A personal injury claim can be successfully amended as long as the following is true:
- The complaint still rests on the same general set of facts. For example, you want to add another defendant to the case. Although there’s a new defendant, it does not change how the accident occurred and the result of the accident.
- It involves the same injuries that were caused by the accident in question.
- Refers to the same means to an end. For example, an amended complaint could include a different theory for liability, but the result was still the same.
Is it possible for the amended complaint to be denied? Yes, it is. The defendant has the right to argue the against the amendment and has up to 20 days to respond. If the defendant is successful in his/her arguments, then the plaintiff may not have the opportunity to present a complete case. This is why it’s important to get all your facts straight before you file your personal injury claim. You need to know the extent of your injuries, have proof of what occurred before, during, and after the accident, and evidence that proves the other party is liable for your injuries.
If you are considering filing a personal injury claim in New Jersey, we want to help. Contact the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone today for a free consultation.
