Building a strong personal injury case is key to winning it. But how do you build a strong case? One of the most important tools to do so is the pre-trial period known as discovery. What is discovery? How does it help you build and defend your case? And how does it also help your opponent? Here are some answers to your questions.
What Is Pre-Trial Discovery?
Once you file a personal injury complaint with the court, both you and the defendant begin a period during which you exchange certain pieces of evidence. Both sides must participate in discovery, responding to legitimate requests for information or access to relevant evidence.
Discovery takes four primary forms. The first is requests for admission, in which each side asks the other to admit or deny a list of statements of fact regarding the case. The second is interrogatories—written questions the receiver answers under oath.
Both sides may also have witnesses sit for depositions, or interviews made under oath and recorded. Finally, you and your opponent may ask the other side to produce specific evidence or documents within their control.
How Does Discovery Help Your Case?
Discovery is a key element of building nearly all cases. It ensures that you can examine evidence held by the other side and to which you would not normally have access. Consider the case of someone hit by a driver who ran a red light. Discovery allows you to learn more about what was going on inside their car, such as by requesting cell phone records to see if they were texting or getting access to their vehicle’s black box.
Interrogatories also let you focus on the right parts of your case. You may ask them to stipulate that they were driving the vehicle at the time. Their answer indicates whether or not they will argue that they were not the driver, saving valuable time and money on your legal case.
You may request a deposition from them or their passengers to learn what they saw, did, and heard. All these add strength to your own evidence.
How Does Discovery Help Your Opponent?
The discovery system in United States civil law is designed to promote fairness in court cases. This means that the other party has equal access to evidence that may help their case.
If you claim damages for physical injuries or pain and suffering, the other driver may have the right to request an independent medical evaluation. They may ask you to produce relevant medical records, depose your own passengers, or ask about your past medical issues. And you cannot simply withhold information because it could hurt your case.
How Does Discovery Protect Your Case?
While discovery itself is a mandatory process, you don’t have to answer every question presented or produce every document the other side asks for. Both parties have the right to object to discovery requests if there is legitimate, legal reason to do so.
What are legal grounds for objections? You may object to a question which is vague or ambiguous, which has too many different parts, or which is overly broad. The request must also be relevant to the incident in dispute. Asking you to list every single injury you have ever had may be too broad, while asking about the state of your marriage at the time might be irrelevant to your claim.
In addition, the other party is expected to craft their requests so as to avoid being unduly burdensome. Perhaps the defendant asks you to provide medical records for every injury you have ever sustained. This could be unduly burdensome and perhaps impossible. Or they request the police report you filed, which they can also obtain themselves. You may object if they can get what they need through other means.
Some evidence is also protected by your other rights. They may not ask for documents protected by your attorney-client privilege. And discovery cannot be used as a fishing expedition. The request must be reasonably made to lead to evidence which can be used in court. It must have some demonstrable relevance.
Finally, participating in discovery means your legal team is better able to gauge the strength or weakness of the other side’s case. They get access to the opposing evidence, witnesses, and the general lines of reasoning being pursued. This lets you better tailor your case, negotiate from a stronger position, and value settlement offers.
Where Can You Learn More?
No matter how strong or weak you feel your case is, pre-trial discovery can make it better. But it also offers your opponent the chance to improve theirs. So the best resource you can have during this period is an experienced personal injury attorney.
Siben & Siben LLP can help. We’ve assisted New York accident victims with all their legal needs for nearly 90 years. Call today to make an appointment and see how we can help you too.