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; only name and description are 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