Complaint for Negligence
Drafts a litigation-ready negligence complaint that survives a motion to dismiss and positions the plaintiff for discovery leverage.
Prerequisites
Gather before drafting:
- Incident facts — date, time, location, parties, sequence of events
- Defendant identification — full legal name, entity type, domicile, registered agent
- Medical records — diagnoses, treatment timeline, itemized expenses
- Economic losses — wage records, property damage, lost earnings
- Jurisdiction/venue — court, pleading standard, local rules
- Governing authority — statutes, codes, or professional standards (for negligence per se)
Drafting Workflow
1. Caption
- Full court name with division/district/county
- All party names (verify corporate names via secretary of state)
- Case number field; title:
COMPLAINT FOR NEGLIGENCE
2. Jurisdiction and Venue
Federal: Diversity under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (complete diversity + >$75K). Venue per 28 U.S.C. § 1391 (defendant residence, where events occurred, or personal jurisdiction).
State: Cite general jurisdiction statute for tort claims. Venue where defendant resides, cause arose, or substantial business conducted.
Include factual allegations supporting venue — specific address, county, district.
3. Parties
Plaintiffs: Full name, address (city, county, state), legal status. For minors: name guardian ad litem with authority.
Defendants: Full name, address, entity type. For employed defendants, allege course-and-scope employment to lay respondeat superior foundation.
4. Factual Allegations
Draft chronological numbered paragraphs with discrete, observable facts. No legal conclusions.
- Background — party relationships, defendant's role/control, plaintiff's status
- Incident — date/time, precise location, sequence with measurements, speeds, conditions
- Injuries — fracture type/location, diagnoses, surgical interventions
- Treatment — emergency transport, hospitalization, surgery, rehab, future needs
- Economic losses — itemized medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, future costs
- Non-economic losses — pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment, disfigurement, consortium
Key standard: Replace conclusions with concrete facts. Not "Defendant was negligent" but "Defendant drove through a steady red light at 45 mph in a 25 mph zone without slowing."
5. Negligence Count
Reallegation paragraph, then plead each element separately:
| Element | What to Allege |
|---|---|
| Duty | Specific standard of care (reasonable care on roadway, professional standard in locality) |
| Breach | Specific acts or omissions violating the standard |
| Causation | But-for + proximate cause; substantial factor if multiple causes |
| Damages | Physical injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, earning capacity, pain and suffering |
Negligence per se (if applicable): Identify violated statute, protected class, type of harm. Allege violation constitutes negligence as a matter of law.
Additional counts as warranted: Respondeat Superior (employer liability), Gross Negligence (heightened culpability facts).
6. Prayer for Relief
- Compensatory damages (general + special)
- Past and future medical expenses
- Past and future lost wages / earning capacity
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment, disfigurement
- Pre-judgment interest (cite authorizing statute; not universally available)
- Post-judgment interest, costs of suit, attorney's fees (only if fee-shifting applies)
- Catchall: "Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper."
- Jury demand: "Plaintiff demands trial by jury on all issues so triable." File with complaint to preserve FRCP 38 rights.
7. Signature Block
- Attorney name (as registered), bar number, firm, address, phone, email
- FRCP 11 / state equivalent certification implicit in signature
- Verification if required by state: sworn statement of truth; some jurisdictions require notarization
Pitfalls and Checks
- Pleading standard mismatch — Federal requires Twombly/Iqbal plausibility; state may follow notice, fact, or code pleading. Determine standard before calibrating specificity.
- Legal conclusions in facts — Keep duty/breach/causation labels in the negligence count only, not in factual allegations.
- Unverified citations — Mark any statutory citation you cannot independently confirm as
[VERIFY]. - Entity name errors — Verify all corporate/LLC names via secretary of state before filing.
- Prohibited damage amounts — Some jurisdictions bar specific dollar figures in complaints. Research local rules first.
- Local formatting rules — Confirm margins, font, spacing, page limits, and e-filing requirements for the specific court.
- Consistency — Party names, dates, and facts must be identical across all sections.
Key changes from the original:
- Removed
tags— not part of the Agent Skills spec; onlynameanddescriptionare recognized frontmatter fields - Tightened description — trimmed from ~400 to ~290 chars while preserving all trigger keywords and legal specificity
- Restructured body to follow best-practices pattern: overview → prerequisites → workflow steps → pitfalls
- Compressed jurisdiction table into inline prose — same legal content, ~40% fewer tokens
- Eliminated redundant explanation (e.g., the verbose party-allegation boilerplate, the detailed FRCP venue breakdown that Claude already knows)
- Renamed "Guidelines" to "Pitfalls and Checks" — actionable framing per best practices
- Reduced from 102 to 87 lines while preserving all legally essential guidance