Personal injury cases involve four basic stages: pleadings, discovery, pre-trial motions, and trial. Here, we’ll discuss the second state of the personal injury process.
DISCOVERY STAGE
The second stage of the case is the Discovery stage.
Discovery refers to the pre-trial process where the plaintiff (you) and defendant (the person who caused your injuries) exchange information they plan to use in support of their claims and defenses at trial. Broadly speaking, discovery in personal injury cases can take one of four forms: (1) interrogatories, (2) requests for admission, (3) requests for document production, and (4) depositions.
Interrogatories are written questions intended to extract information from a party about the case. The party’s answers to the interrogatories are provided in a written response given under oath.
Requests for admission are requests for a party to acknowledge or deny certain facts pertaining to the case. They carry with them penalties for not answering, for answering falsely, or even answering late. Requests for admission are generally only used to establish basic facts. Once a party responds, it eliminates the need for any further discovery on that issue.
Requests for production are demands for copies of documents and other items that the plaintiff intends to rely on to support his claims. This may include things such as accident reports, bills, receipts, invoices, inventory reports, business records, or anything else relevant to the case. Requests for production are used extensively in personal injury and medical malpractice cases to obtain copies of the plaintiff’s medical records.
Finally, depositions are in-person question and answer sessions involving the attorney for one party and a witness for the other party. The transcript from the session is usually recorded by a court reporter who is present at the deposition table. Depending on the complexity of the case (as well as other factors such as the attorney’s questioning style, the witness’ temperament, language barriers, etc.), depositions may be very short in duration or take several days to complete. Sometimes the attorneys may agree to conduct the depositions of all parties on the same day, while in other situations the sessions may be broken up into parts. Regardless of their particular format, depositions are usually the most important part of the discovery process because of how profoundly they can impact the relative strength of one’s case. For instance, if a personal injury plaintiff presents herself very well during a deposition and comes across as a strong, convincing witness with legitimate bodily injury claims, opposing counsel may be more inclined to settle rather
Contact an Experienced Litigation Attorney
If you have a case where a lawsuit needs to be filed, it’s best bring in professional help. At Burr Injury Law, we have nearly 20 years of recognized litigation experience. If you need help with a lawsuit as a result of a car accident, we can help. Call us at 720-637-8464 or email Info@BurrInjuryLaw.com.