Personal Injury Lawsuit Timeline in Los Angeles Superior Court

Stage 1: Medical Treatment & Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)

Your attorney will generally wait until you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) — the point at which your treating physicians determine your condition has stabilized — before sending a settlement demand. Settling before MMI means you cannot accurately calculate future medical costs or the full extent of your disability. For serious injuries, MMI may take 6–18 months or longer. Your attorney manages evidence preservation and insurance communications during this pre-litigation phase.

Stage 2: Settlement Demand & Pre-Litigation Negotiation

Once MMI is reached, your attorney prepares a comprehensive demand package — medical records, billing, lost wage documentation, expert opinions, and a written demand letter. The insurer typically has 30–40 days to respond. If the parties are close, cases settle here without ever being filed in court. If the insurer lowballs or denies, your attorney files suit.

Stage 3: Filing the Complaint

Your attorney files a Complaint for Damages in LA Superior Court, paying the filing fee (currently $435 for unlimited civil cases over $25,000). The Complaint names all defendants, states the causes of action (negligence, premises liability, product liability, etc.), and requests damages. The court clerk assigns a case number and a judge from the civil court's rotating assignment. At Stanley Mosk, cases are assigned to specific independent calendar (IC) departments.

Stage 4: Service of Process

The defendants must be formally served with the Summons and Complaint within 60 days of filing in California. Service can be accomplished by personal service, substitute service, or — after attempts fail — by publication. Large corporate defendants (insurers, retailers, delivery companies) are typically served through their registered agents. Once served, the defendant has 30 days to file a response.

Stage 5: Defendant's Answer

The defendant files an Answer to the Complaint, typically denying all or most allegations and asserting affirmative defenses (contributory negligence, assumption of risk, statute of limitations). In larger cases, defendants may also file cross-complaints against other parties (e.g., a co-defendant driver blaming road conditions). The Answer closes the pleading stage and opens discovery.

Stage 6: Discovery

Discovery is the most time-consuming phase of litigation. Both sides exchange written requests and conduct depositions to gather evidence. In a LA Superior Court personal injury case, discovery typically includes:

Written discovery: Interrogatories (written questions), Requests for Production of Documents (medical records, police reports, surveillance footage, company records), and Requests for Admissions.

Depositions: In-person testimony under oath. Your deposition, your treating doctors' depositions, defense medical expert depositions, eyewitness depositions, and corporate representative depositions (particularly important in employer-liability cases). A complex case may involve 10+ depositions.

Expert witness retention: Both sides typically retain medical experts to evaluate injuries and prognosis, and liability experts (accident reconstructionists, engineers, safety experts) to dispute causation and fault.

LA Superior Court's local rules require that discovery be completed by a court-ordered discovery cutoff, typically 30 days before the trial date. Discovery disputes are resolved through motion practice — IDC (Informal Discovery Conference) before formal motions to compel — before the assigned judge.

Stage 7: Motions (Including Summary Judgment)

After discovery, defendants commonly file Motions for Summary Judgment (MSJ) arguing that even taking all facts in the plaintiff's favor, no triable issue exists. In LA Superior Court, MSJ hearings are scheduled and briefed over several months. MSJs in personal injury cases are frequently denied, but the briefing process adds time. Other common motions include motions in limine (to exclude evidence at trial) and motions to bifurcate (to try liability and damages separately).

Stage 8: Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC)

LA Superior Court requires a Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC) before virtually all civil trials. Your attorney submits a detailed MSC Statement — a comprehensive brief outlining liability, all damages, and your settlement position — to the assigned settlement judge. The MSC judge (often a commissioner or a judge from a different department) evaluates both sides and facilitates intensive settlement negotiations. A significant majority of cases that reach the MSC phase settle here. The MSC is a serious proceeding requiring thorough preparation.

Stage 9: Trial

If the case does not settle at the MSC or in subsequent negotiations, the case proceeds to trial. In LA Superior Court, most personal injury trials are jury trials held before 12 jurors. Jury selection (voir dire), opening statements, plaintiff's case-in-chief, defendant's case, closing arguments, jury deliberations, and verdict typically span 5–15 days for complex personal injury cases. A verdict is not the end — either party can move for judgment notwithstanding verdict (JNOV) or a new trial, and appeals to the California Court of Appeal can add 1–3 years.