what is the procedure for amending a complaint for personal injury

Amended complaint: I was in a car accident and obtained a lawyer to handle my case, after the case was closed I received a large medical bill. I am now in court trying to get the lawyers to pay for the unpaid bill. I filed a complaint in small claims court, now I am being ask to file a amended complaint or file for a motion to dismiss. Why do I need to file a amended complaint? and how/what do I put in a amended complaint?
Additional information
I am in small claims court, and the defendant is asking me to file by the 16th of January an amended complaint or motion to dismiss. The first complaint said The law office of ---fail to pay for all medical bills received due to my car accident. This law office left me with a medical bill of $1850.00 and I have a report that shows that this bill will sent in enough time before the closing settlement. I can't find anyone to help me with the amended complaint!
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Answers (3)

Jeena R. Belil

Jeena R. Belil Avvo Pro

Contributor Level 6
Your question needs some more specifics...who asked you to file an amended complaint? Was it the small claims court? If it was, contact the clerk in person and find out why. There may have been a deficiency in the original that just needs to be fixed. The clerk should be able to explain the problem to you and how to fill out an amended complaint.
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Peter LaSorsa

Peter LaSorsa

Contributor Level 6
Depending on the county there may be a self-help legal table or area in the courthouse that may provide some assistance to you. There must be something technically wrong with your complaint as drafted (i.e., you named the wrong person, put the wrong date down, perhaps you are suing an individual and should be suing a corporation etc.
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Michael W. Clancy

Michael W. Clancy

Contributor Level 4
Your additional information helps, but not quite enough. Without actually seeing your complaint, it is almost impossible for us to diagnose the problem which makes it equally impossible to prescribe a fix. This said, it may be that you have failed to adequately plead duty. In general, lawyers don't pay medical bills for clients. In personal injury cases, lawyers do negotiate and satisfy liens for clients, and they also will assist a client in paying off medical bills which are related to the accident if they are asked. If you and your lawyer had an understanding that he or she was going to negotiate and/or pay your related medical expenses out of your recovery, your complaint needs to include the fact that the two of you reached this agreement, the fact that a bill was sent to the lawyer before the case settled, the fact that the lawyer didn't negotiate or pay the bill out of the recovery as promised, and the fact that you were damaged by having to pay the bill out of your pocket instead of the recovery. Let me be clear-- I don't know if this will fix the problem because I don't know enough about the entire situation. There are other potential legal problems with your claims which are outside the scope of your question. I know this is what you were trying to avoid, but the best advice that any of us can give to you if you want to make sure that the complaint sticks is to talk to a lawyer about it right away.
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