A lawsuit is a formal civil action filed in court by a plaintiff seeking a legal remedy from a defendant, and every US lawsuit falls into a small number of recurring types built around the kind of harm at issue. Understanding those types is the first step to recognizing which one applies to your situation.
A lawsuit is a civil action, filed by a private party rather than the government, and decided by a preponderance of the evidence rather than the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. It moves through filing, discovery, pretrial motions, and trial. The most common types are personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, product liability, mass tort, and class action lawsuits. Each recovers damages differently and takes its own path through the courts.
No two lawsuits unfold exactly alike, but knowing the type you're dealing with tells you who can file it, what you need to prove, and what compensation is realistically on the table. The sections below walk through each type in detail, with dedicated guides linked at the end for deeper research.
What Is a Lawsuit?
A lawsuit is a civil legal action in which a plaintiff asks a court to resolve a dispute with a defendant and grant a legal or equitable remedy. Lawsuits can involve torts, contracts, property rights, statutes, constitutional claims, and other civil causes of action.
A civil lawsuit ordinarily begins when the plaintiff files a complaint. The complaint identifies the parties, states the plaintiff's legal claims, describes the relevant facts, and asks the court for specific relief.
The plaintiff must then properly serve the defendant under the applicable procedural rules. The defendant generally must respond within a set deadline by filing an answer, a permitted motion, or both. An answer can admit or deny allegations and may include defenses and counterclaims.
Civil lawsuits are not limited to tort and contract disputes. They can involve:
- Personal injury
- Contract disputes
- Property rights
- Employment law
- Consumer protection
- Business disputes
- Product liability
- Constitutional rights
- Statutory violations
A plaintiff in a civil lawsuit generally must prove each required element by a preponderance of the evidence. This standard means the plaintiff must show that the claim is more likely true than not.
Some civil claims or issues require a higher standard, such as clear and convincing evidence. Criminal prosecutions generally require the government to prove every element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
What Is the Difference Between a Civil Lawsuit and a Criminal Case?
The main difference between a civil lawsuit and a criminal case is that a civil lawsuit determines civil rights and remedies, while a criminal case determines whether the government has proved that a defendant committed a crime.
Private individuals, companies, organizations, and government entities can bring civil lawsuits. Criminal prosecutions are brought by the government.
| Feature | Civil lawsuit | Criminal case |
|---|---|---|
| Who brings the case | Private parties or government entities | Government prosecutor |
| Primary purpose | Resolve civil rights and liabilities | Determine criminal guilt and impose punishment |
| Typical burden of proof | Preponderance of the evidence | Beyond a reasonable doubt |
| Common outcomes | Damages, injunctions, declarations, or other civil remedies | Imprisonment, probation, criminal fines, or other penalties |
| Appeal | Parties generally may appeal qualifying judgments or orders | Defendant may appeal a conviction; government appeals are substantially restricted |
A civil defendant ordinarily cannot be imprisoned merely for losing a lawsuit. A court can, however, use contempt powers in appropriate circumstances when a person violates certain court orders.
A civil plaintiff often controls whether to accept a settlement, although settlement authority can depend on the parties and type of case.
Civil appeal rights also have limits. A party generally appeals a final judgment, although some interlocutory orders can be appealed before the case ends.
In criminal cases, double-jeopardy protections generally prevent the government from retrying a defendant after an acquittal.
What Are the Main Stages of a Lawsuit?
A civil lawsuit generally moves through pleading and service, discovery, pretrial proceedings, trial, judgment, and possible appeal. Settlement, dismissal, default, or summary judgment can end the case before trial.
- Pleading and service: The plaintiff files a complaint and serves the defendant. The defendant files an answer or another permitted response.
- Discovery: The parties obtain relevant information from each other and third parties. Discovery can include documents, written questions, requests for admission, depositions, subpoenas, and expert testimony.
- Pretrial proceedings: The court addresses motions, evidentiary disputes, scheduling issues, settlement efforts, and trial preparation.
- Trial: A judge or jury hears admissible evidence and decides unresolved factual and legal issues assigned to it.
- Judgment and post-trial proceedings: The court enters judgment and may consider authorized post-trial motions.
- Appeal: An eligible party may ask a higher court to review an appealable judgment or order.
A motion to dismiss and a motion for summary judgment serve different purposes.
A motion to dismiss usually argues that a claim has a legal or procedural defect that prevents it from proceeding.
A motion for summary judgment asks the court to decide a claim or defense without trial because no genuine dispute of material fact requires a trial on that issue.
Most civil cases that enter the court system do not end in a completed trial. Settlement, voluntary dismissal, involuntary dismissal, default, dispositive motions, and other procedures can resolve cases earlier.
Any statistic describing the percentage of lawsuits that settle or reach trial should identify the specific jurisdiction, court system, case category, dataset, and reporting period.
What Are the Main Types of Lawsuits?
Civil lawsuits include personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, product liability, contract, property, employment, consumer, and other statutory or common-law claims. Class actions and mass torts differ because they describe ways of organizing or litigating multiple claims rather than independent types of legal wrongdoing.
Common civil lawsuit categories include:
- Personal injury: Claims seeking recovery for physical or psychological injury caused by legally actionable conduct
- Wrongful death: Statutory claims arising when legally actionable conduct causes a person's death
- Medical malpractice: Professional-negligence claims involving doctors, hospitals, or other healthcare providers
- Product liability: Claims involving injuries or losses attributed to defective products or inadequate warnings
- Contract disputes: Claims involving alleged breaches of contractual duties
- Property disputes: Claims involving ownership, possession, boundaries, nuisance, or other property rights
- Employment claims: Claims involving wages, discrimination, retaliation, contracts, or other workplace rights
- Consumer claims: Claims involving deceptive practices, defective products, privacy, contracts, or statutory consumer protections
Class actions and mass torts should be classified separately.
A class action is a procedural mechanism that allows representative plaintiffs to litigate claims on behalf of a defined class when certification requirements are satisfied.
A mass tort involves numerous individual plaintiffs asserting separate claims arising from similar products, events, or alleged misconduct.
What Is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
A personal injury lawsuit seeks compensation or another civil remedy for physical or psychological injury caused by conduct for which another party is legally responsible.
Negligence is one of the most common legal theories in personal injury cases.
A negligence claim generally requires proof of four elements:
- The defendant owed the plaintiff a legal duty.
- The defendant breached that duty.
- The breach caused the plaintiff's injury.
- The plaintiff suffered legally recognized damages.
Not every personal injury lawsuit is based on negligence. Personal injury claims can also arise from intentional torts, strict liability, defective products, and other legal theories.
Common personal injury cases include:
- Motor-vehicle collisions
- Slip-and-fall incidents
- Premises-liability claims
- Defective-product injuries
- Workplace-related third-party claims
- Intentional assaults and other intentional torts
A successful plaintiff may recover economic damages such as medical expenses and lost income.
The plaintiff may also recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering when allowed by applicable law.
Available damages, defenses, filing deadlines, and damages caps vary by jurisdiction.
What Is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
A wrongful death lawsuit is a statutory civil claim that arises when legally actionable conduct causes a person's death.
State law determines who can file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Depending on the jurisdiction, the proper plaintiff may be:
- A personal representative
- An executor
- An administrator
- A surviving spouse
- A child
- A parent
- Another person specifically authorized by statute
Wrongful death damages also vary by jurisdiction.
Recoverable damages can include:
- Lost financial support
- Lost household services
- Loss of companionship
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Medical expenses associated with the fatal injury
- Other losses authorized by statute
Some jurisdictions distinguish between a wrongful death claim and a survival action.
A wrongful death claim generally compensates eligible survivors for losses caused by the death.
A survival action generally preserves certain claims the deceased person could have pursued if they had survived.
What Is a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
A medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that a healthcare provider breached the applicable professional standard of care and caused compensable harm.
A medical malpractice plaintiff generally must establish:
- The healthcare provider owed the patient a professional duty.
- An applicable standard of care governed the provider's conduct.
- The provider breached that standard.
- The breach caused the patient's injury.
- The patient suffered legally recognized damages.
Expert testimony is commonly required to establish the applicable standard of care and medical causation, although exceptions can apply.
Medical malpractice claims can involve:
- Failure to diagnose
- Delayed diagnosis
- Surgical errors
- Medication errors
- Improper treatment
- Failure to monitor
- Birth injuries
- Inadequate informed consent
A poor medical outcome alone does not establish malpractice.
The plaintiff must prove that the healthcare provider violated the applicable legal standard and that the violation caused compensable harm.
States can impose additional requirements, including presuit notices, certificates of merit, expert affidavits, specialized limitation periods, and damages restrictions.
What Is a Product Liability Lawsuit?
A product liability lawsuit seeks to hold a legally responsible party liable for harm associated with a defective product or inadequate warning.
Product liability claims commonly involve three categories of defects:
- Manufacturing defect: The product departed from its intended design during production.
- Design defect: The product's design created an unreasonable or legally actionable danger under the applicable legal test.
- Warning defect: The product lacked adequate warnings or instructions concerning a relevant risk.
Product liability claims can proceed under several legal theories.
These theories can include:
- Strict liability
- Negligence
- Breach of warranty
- Misrepresentation
- Other state-law causes of action
Potential defendants can include manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and retailers, depending on the governing law.
When one product allegedly harms many people, the resulting lawsuits can remain separate cases, be coordinated in multidistrict litigation, or potentially proceed as a class action if certification requirements are satisfied.
What Is a Mass Tort Lawsuit?
A mass tort involves numerous plaintiffs asserting individual claims arising from similar products, events, or alleged misconduct.
A mass tort differs from a class action because each plaintiff generally maintains an individual claim.
Individual issues can include:
- Exposure
- Causation
- Medical history
- Injury severity
- Damages
- Applicable state law
Federal lawsuits involving common factual questions can sometimes be transferred into multidistrict litigation.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1407, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation may transfer federal civil actions pending in different districts to one federal district for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings when the statutory requirements are satisfied.
Multidistrict litigation can centralize:
- Discovery
- Document production
- Depositions
- Expert issues
- Pretrial motions
- Settlement negotiations
- Other shared pretrial matters
An MDL does not automatically merge every transferred lawsuit into one lawsuit.
The transferred cases generally retain their separate identities.
Cases that are not resolved during the MDL process can ultimately be returned to their originating federal districts for further proceedings when required.
Courts can also use bellwether trials in some mass tort proceedings. Bellwether trials select individual cases for trial to provide information about recurring factual issues, legal arguments, potential verdict ranges, and settlement dynamics.
Choice-of-law issues in mass tort litigation can be complex. Transferring cases into an MDL does not automatically create one substantive body of law for every plaintiff.
What Is a Class Action Lawsuit?
A class action allows one or more representative plaintiffs to litigate claims on behalf of a defined group when the governing certification requirements are satisfied.
In federal court, Rule 23(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires four basic prerequisites:
- Numerosity: The class is sufficiently numerous that joining every member individually would be impracticable.
- Commonality: The class presents common questions of law or fact.
- Typicality: The named plaintiffs' claims or defenses are typical of the class.
- Adequacy: The representatives and their counsel can adequately protect the class's interests.
Meeting Rule 23(a) does not automatically create a class action.
The proposed class must also satisfy at least one category under Rule 23(b).
Different Rule 23(b) categories impose additional requirements and can affect notice and opt-out rights.
Class actions can involve:
- Consumer claims
- Securities disputes
- Employment claims
- Antitrust allegations
- Data breaches
- Privacy claims
- Defective products
- Financial-services disputes
Class actions do not always produce a monetary settlement that is divided equally among every class member.
Relief can include:
- Monetary payments
- Injunctive relief
- Declaratory relief
- Business-practice changes
- Credits or other benefits
- A combination of remedies
Settlement distribution depends on the class definition, governing law, settlement terms, claims process, and court approval.
What Damages Can You Recover in a Lawsuit?
A civil lawsuit can provide compensatory damages, punitive damages, statutory damages, restitution, equitable relief, or other remedies depending on the claim and governing law.
Common forms of civil relief include:
- Economic damages: Quantifiable financial losses such as medical expenses, lost income, repair costs, and property damage
- Non-economic damages: Legally compensable non-financial losses such as pain, suffering, and emotional distress
- Punitive damages: Additional damages designed to punish and deter qualifying misconduct when authorized by law
- Statutory damages: Amounts established or authorized by statute for specific violations
- Restitution: Relief intended in appropriate cases to restore money or property
- Disgorgement: A remedy available in certain legal contexts that can require surrender of improperly obtained gains
- Injunctive relief: A court order requiring or prohibiting specific conduct
- Declaratory relief: A court determination concerning the parties' legal rights or obligations
Punitive damages are not available in every civil lawsuit.
The required level of misconduct varies by jurisdiction and cause of action.
Applicable standards can include:
- Malice
- Fraud
- Oppression
- Willful misconduct
- Recklessness
- Other specifically defined culpable conduct
Many states impose statutory restrictions or caps on punitive damages.
The U.S. Supreme Court has also imposed constitutional limits on grossly excessive punitive damage awards under the Due Process Clause.
In BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell, the Supreme Court identified guideposts courts use when reviewing punitive awards.
These guideposts include:
- The reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct
- The relationship between punitive and compensatory damages
- The difference between the punitive award and comparable civil penalties
The Supreme Court has not created one universal punitive-to-compensatory ratio that applies to every case.
The Court has indicated that single-digit ratios are more likely to satisfy due process than substantially larger ratios, while emphasizing that constitutional analysis depends on the circumstances.
How Long Does a Lawsuit Take to Resolve?
A civil lawsuit can take several months to several years to resolve, depending on the court, jurisdiction, complexity, discovery demands, number of parties, motion practice, trial schedule, and appeals.
Simple cases can resolve within months.
Complex cases involving multiple parties, expert witnesses, extensive discovery, or appeals can continue for several years.
Several factors affect a lawsuit's duration:
- Court scheduling
- Number of parties
- Number of claims
- Volume of documents
- Number of depositions
- Expert testimony
- Discovery disputes
- Pretrial motions
- Settlement negotiations
- Trial length
- Post-trial motions
- Appeals
Discovery can consume a substantial portion of the litigation schedule.
A case involving a small number of documents and witnesses can move relatively quickly.
A case involving millions of documents, numerous experts, multiple corporate defendants, or complex scientific evidence can require substantially more time.
Trial length also varies.
A simple trial can last less than a day or several days.
A complex trial can continue for weeks or months.
An appeal can extend the dispute well beyond the trial-court judgment.
What Happens If You Lose a Lawsuit?
Losing a civil lawsuit means the court enters an adverse judgment on the claims or defenses it decided.
A losing defendant can be ordered to:
- Pay compensatory damages
- Pay punitive damages when legally authorized
- Comply with an injunction
- Return property
- Perform another court-ordered obligation
- Pay certain court costs
- Pay attorney's fees when a statute, contract, rule, or other legal basis authorizes them
A losing plaintiff may recover nothing on unsuccessful claims.
A plaintiff can also become responsible for certain taxable court costs and, in some cases, attorney's fees when governing law authorizes fee shifting.
A defendant who ignores a lawsuit after proper service can face default.
The court can first enter default and can later enter a default judgment when the applicable procedural requirements are satisfied.
A default judgment can establish liability and, depending on the case, result in monetary or other relief without a contested trial on the merits.
Procedural rules can permit a defendant to ask the court to set aside an entry of default or default judgment under specified circumstances.
Losing a lawsuit does not automatically guarantee a successful appeal.
A losing party can seek appellate review only when the judgment or order is appealable and applicable procedural requirements are satisfied.
An appellate court generally reviews claimed legal or procedural errors. It does not simply conduct the entire trial again.
Filing an appeal also does not necessarily stop enforcement of the judgment. A party may need to obtain a stay and satisfy additional requirements.
What Is a Statute of Limitations in a Lawsuit?
A statute of limitations sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit after a claim accrues or another legally defined event occurs. Missing the applicable deadline can prevent a plaintiff from pursuing the claim.
The filing deadline depends on:
- The type of claim
- The state or federal law involved
- Where the lawsuit is filed
- When the claim accrued
- When the plaintiff discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury
- The plaintiff's age or legal status
- The defendant's conduct
- Applicable tolling rules
Different claims can have different limitation periods even when they arise from the same event.
Personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, contract, product liability, and statutory claims can each have different deadlines.
Some jurisdictions use discovery rules that delay accrual until the plaintiff discovers, or reasonably should discover, an injury or its cause.
Other rules can pause or extend a limitation period under defined circumstances. This process is known as tolling.
Statutes of repose create a separate type of deadline in some cases. A statute of repose can bar a claim after a fixed period measured from a specified event even when the plaintiff did not discover the injury until later.
What Is the Difference Between a Settlement and a Judgment?
The main difference between a settlement and a judgment is that a settlement is an agreement resolving a dispute, while a judgment is an enforceable court determination of the parties' rights or liabilities.
A settlement can occur before or after a lawsuit is filed.
Settlements commonly specify:
- Payment amounts
- Payment schedules
- Release of claims
- Confidentiality terms
- Dismissal requirements
- Allocation of costs
- Other negotiated obligations
Parties usually control whether they accept a voluntary settlement.
A judgment results from judicial action.
A court can enter judgment after:
- Trial
- Summary judgment
- Default
- Dismissal
- Another legally authorized disposition
A court can also enter a consent judgment based on an agreement between the parties.
Settlement agreements and judgments can carry different enforcement, confidentiality, appeal, tax, and collateral consequences.
What Is Discovery in a Lawsuit?
Discovery is the pretrial process through which parties obtain relevant information, documents, testimony, and other evidence for use in a civil lawsuit.
Common discovery tools include:
- Interrogatories: Written questions one party requires another party to answer
- Requests for production: Requests for documents, electronically stored information, physical items, or other materials
- Requests for admission: Statements another party must admit or deny
- Depositions: Sworn testimony taken before trial
- Subpoenas: Legal commands requiring third parties to provide testimony or evidence
- Expert discovery: Disclosure and examination of expert opinions and supporting materials
Discovery is not unlimited.
Courts can restrict discovery that is irrelevant, privileged, disproportionate, excessively burdensome, or otherwise prohibited by procedural rules.
Attorney-client privilege, work-product protection, privacy rules, protective orders, and other doctrines can restrict access to particular information.
Discovery disputes can require court intervention when the parties disagree about what information must be produced.
What Is a Deposition in a Lawsuit?
A deposition is sworn out-of-court testimony given by a witness during the discovery phase of a lawsuit.
Attorneys question the witness under oath while a court reporter or another authorized method creates a record of the testimony.
Depositions can be used to:
- Learn what a witness knows
- Preserve testimony
- Evaluate credibility
- Obtain admissions
- Test legal and factual theories
- Prepare for trial
- Support or oppose motions
- Impeach inconsistent trial testimony when permitted
Depositions commonly involve parties, eyewitnesses, corporate representatives, treating professionals, and expert witnesses.
The length and scope of depositions are governed by applicable procedural rules and court orders.
What Is a Motion to Dismiss?
A motion to dismiss asks a court to terminate all or part of a lawsuit because of a legal or procedural defect.
A motion to dismiss can raise issues such as:
- Failure to state a legally sufficient claim
- Lack of subject-matter jurisdiction
- Lack of personal jurisdiction
- Improper venue
- Insufficient process
- Insufficient service of process
- Other grounds recognized by applicable procedural rules
A motion to dismiss generally does not ask a court to weigh all competing evidence and determine which side's factual account is more persuasive.
The applicable standard depends on the ground asserted.
A dismissal can be with prejudice or without prejudice.
A dismissal with prejudice generally prevents the plaintiff from bringing the same claim again.
A dismissal without prejudice can allow the plaintiff to correct the problem and refile when procedural rules, filing deadlines, and other legal requirements permit.
What Is Summary Judgment?
Summary judgment allows a court to decide a claim or defense without trial when no genuine dispute of material fact requires a trial and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the applicable law.
Summary judgment occurs after the parties have had an appropriate opportunity to develop the factual record.
Evidence considered at the summary-judgment stage can include:
- Documents
- Deposition testimony
- Admissions
- Affidavits or declarations
- Business records
- Expert evidence
- Other admissible or properly supportable materials
A factual dispute does not automatically prevent summary judgment.
The dispute must concern a fact that could affect the outcome under the governing law and must be genuinely disputed based on the record.
A court can grant summary judgment on an entire case or only particular claims, defenses, or issues.
What Happens at a Civil Trial?
A civil trial allows a judge or jury to decide unresolved claims after hearing admissible evidence and legal arguments from the parties.
A civil trial can include:
- Jury selection when the case is tried to a jury
- Opening statements
- The plaintiff's evidence
- Cross-examination of the plaintiff's witnesses
- The defendant's evidence
- Cross-examination of the defendant's witnesses
- Rebuttal evidence when permitted
- Closing arguments
- Jury instructions in a jury trial
- Deliberations and verdict
- Entry of judgment
The plaintiff ordinarily bears the burden of proving the elements of the plaintiff's claims.
The defendant can present defenses and, when applicable, counterclaims.
In a jury trial, the jury generally decides disputed factual questions.
The judge rules on legal issues, evidence, procedure, and jury instructions.
In a bench trial, the judge generally serves as both factfinder and legal decision-maker.
Can a Lawsuit Be Settled Before Trial?
Yes. A lawsuit can be settled at nearly any stage before final resolution, including before filing, during discovery, after motions, during trial, and sometimes while an appeal is pending.
Settlement allows the parties to negotiate a resolution rather than have a judge or jury determine the outcome.
Settlement discussions can occur through:
- Direct negotiation
- Attorney negotiation
- Mediation
- Court-sponsored settlement conferences
- Structured settlement procedures
Settlement does not necessarily mean either side admits wrongdoing.
Many settlement agreements expressly state that the defendant denies liability.
A settlement becomes binding according to applicable contract law, procedural rules, and the terms of the agreement.
Class-action settlements generally require court approval under the applicable procedural rules.
Who Pays Attorney's Fees in a Lawsuit?
Each party in a U.S. civil lawsuit generally pays its own attorney's fees unless a statute, contract, court rule, sanction, or other recognized legal basis shifts fees to another party.
This general principle is commonly called the American Rule.
Attorney's fees can be shifted when:
- A contract contains an enforceable fee provision
- A statute authorizes prevailing-party fees
- A civil-rights law authorizes fees
- A consumer-protection statute authorizes fees
- A court imposes sanctions
- Another recognized exception applies
Attorney's fees are different from taxable court costs.
Court costs can include filing fees, transcript expenses, service fees, or other expenses recoverable under applicable rules.
Fee rules vary significantly by jurisdiction and claim.
Can You Appeal a Civil Lawsuit?
Yes. A party can generally appeal an appealable civil judgment or order by filing a timely notice of appeal and satisfying the applicable procedural requirements.
An appeal is not a new trial.
The appellate court generally reviews the existing record to determine whether the lower court made a reversible legal or procedural error.
Different issues receive different standards of review.
Examples include:
- De novo review: The appellate court reviews a legal issue without deferring to the trial court's legal conclusion.
- Abuse-of-discretion review: The appellate court gives the trial court greater discretion on specified procedural or evidentiary decisions.
- Clear-error or substantial-evidence standards: Different standards can apply to factual findings depending on the court and issue.
Appeal deadlines are strict.
Missing the deadline to file a notice of appeal can eliminate the right to appellate review.
Not every ruling can be appealed immediately. Most appeals follow a final judgment, although specified interlocutory orders can qualify for earlier review.
How Is a Civil Judgment Enforced?
A civil judgment gives the prevailing party an enforceable legal right, but the court does not automatically collect every monetary judgment for the creditor.
A judgment creditor may need to use post-judgment enforcement procedures.
Depending on applicable law, those procedures can include:
- Wage garnishment
- Bank-account levies
- Property liens
- Judgment liens
- Execution against nonexempt property
- Post-judgment discovery
- Debtor examinations
- Other authorized collection procedures
State and federal laws protect certain property and income from collection.
These protections are commonly called exemptions.
A defendant who cannot immediately pay a judgment does not automatically face imprisonment merely because of inability to pay an ordinary civil debt.
Judgments can also accrue interest and remain enforceable for a legally defined period, subject to state-specific renewal and expiration rules.
Where Can You Learn More About Specific Types of Lawsuits?
Learn more about lawsuits by reviewing separate guides for each substantive claim and litigation procedure. Personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and product liability require different liability elements, defenses, deadlines, and damages analyses.
A personal injury guide should explain negligence, causation, comparative fault, damages, insurance, statutes of limitation, and settlement procedures.
A wrongful death guide should explain who can file, eligible beneficiaries, wrongful death damages, survival actions, and state-specific filing deadlines.
A medical malpractice guide should explain professional standards of care, expert testimony, causation, presuit requirements, damages restrictions, and specialized statutes of limitation.
A product liability guide should explain manufacturing defects, design defects, warning defects, strict liability, negligence, warranties, causation, and potential defendants.
A mass tort guide should explain individual claims, multidistrict litigation, bellwether trials, discovery coordination, settlement structures, and remand.
A class action guide should explain Rule 23 certification, class definitions, commonality, predominance where applicable, notice, opt-out rights, settlements, objections, attorney's fees, and distribution of relief.
The governing jurisdiction remains important in every lawsuit.
Civil procedure, limitation periods, liability standards, available defenses, damages, standing, evidence rules, judgment enforcement, and appeal rights can differ between federal and state courts and among individual states.