{"id":6032,"date":"2020-04-04T17:33:40","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T21:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=6032"},"modified":"2020-04-04T17:34:08","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T21:34:08","slug":"what-the-discovery-process-looks-like-in-a-personal-injury-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/what-the-discovery-process-looks-like-in-a-personal-injury-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Discovery Process Looks Like in a Personal Injury Lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>There are nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/fastats\/accidental-injury.htm\">40 million unintentional injuries<\/a> every year. Unfortunately, many of these are a result of someone else&#8217;s negligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who end up injured due to another party failing to fulfill their responsibilities often file a lawsuit in order to receive compensation. A large part of this process, though, involves a phase called &#8216;discovery&#8217; where evidence is gathered and exchanged in order to inform everyone involved in the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, not everyone knows what the discovery phase&nbsp;entails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not sure where to start? Don&#8217;t worry, we\u2019ve got you covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at everything you need to know about the discovery process during a personal injury lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Interrogatories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At first glance, this term may give off the impression that interrogations take place. The actual process is much more&nbsp;relaxed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To put it simply, the interrogatory segment of the discovery process involves submitting written questions to the other party in order to learn more about the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typical details that might be the subject of this questioning include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A description of the claimant&#8217;s injuries<\/li><li>The names of other parties\/witnesses<\/li><li>The claimant&#8217;s medical history<\/li><li>Information about&nbsp;the claimant&#8217;s medical records<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This information is used to consolidate evidence and further strengthen the plaintiff&#8217;s case and increase the chance of the outcome being in their favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A&nbsp;Request for Production<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This term refers to a written request that&#8217;s sent to the other party&#8217;s attorney that asks for documents relevant to the case. Once these documents are received, they are inspected in an attempt to find further supporting evidence for the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In general,&nbsp;photographs of the scene and records of subsequent repairs made to the property&nbsp;are the most commonly requested forms of documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if someone was injured as a result of a faulty handrail, they can request documents that support their claim. In this case, photographic evidence taken by the other party and records of making repairs to the handrail would come into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photographs are particularly useful, as&nbsp;there are scenarios where the defendant may alter the scene or purposely take photos in a way that downplays the severity of the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the plaintiff&#8217;s own evidence can refute the evidence presented by the opposing party, they&#8217;re likely to greatly strengthen their case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Request for Admission<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the &#8216;request for production&#8217; segment of the discovery phases concludes, a request for admission may be filed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This refers to a written&nbsp;statement regarding the case that&#8217;s sent to the other party. Upon receipt of this request, they must admit, deny, or object.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An objection is different from denial in that it seeks to disallow this&nbsp;testimony&nbsp;from being taken into consideration due to it violating the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/rules\/fre\">rules of evidence<\/a>. If nothing in the request for admission is in violation, however, a judge will then declare the opposing party must admit to or deny the information presented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the opposing party doesn&#8217;t formally respond within 30 days of the request being made, a judge may then assume that the opposing party has admitted to the statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve received a request for admission, be sure to respond as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Deposition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If the discovery phase reaches this point without some sort of agreement being made, an out-of-court testimony is held in other to gather more information about the incident. This testimony is transcribed by a court reporter, and this information can be used at a later date if the need arises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Either party is able to request a deposition, and they&#8217;re often held so that all of the minute details of the case can be testified and recorded. As time goes on, people are likely to forget parts of the incident that weren&#8217;t photographed or recorded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The information gathered during a deposition is invaluable to use during the actual trial (if the case progresses to this point).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oftentimes, information from the deposition will contradict information presented during the case&#8217;s trial. Since the deposition occurs beforehand, a judge will often heavily consider evidence gathered during a deposition while the trial is ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Long Does The Discovery Phase Take?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In general, this phase will take anywhere from a few weeks to a handful of months. Additionally, the plaintiff will need to be heavily involved during the process in order to provide evidence, confirm or deny statements, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, this is something to keep in mind when filing a personal injury lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reliable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hwnninjurylaw.com\/lexington\/\">personal injury lawyers<\/a>, however, will guide you through this process to make it as fluid as possible while you&#8217;re involved. If your participation is limited due to your injuries, your lawyer will&nbsp;accommodate you as best they can to give you bulletproof legal representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When searching for an attorney, someone with solid industry experience who specializes in personal injury law is your best bet. While it&#8217;s not guaranteed that a personal injury lawyer with only a year or two of experience won&#8217;t provide solid results, you&#8217;re rolling the dice on the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is especially true for incidents that are far more convoluted than the average &#8216;slip and fall&#8217; case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Navigating The Discovery Process Can Seem Difficult<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>But it doesn&#8217;t have to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the above information about the discovery process during a personal injury lawsuit in mind, you&#8217;ll be well on your way toward getting the compensation that you deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to learn more legal tips that can help you out in the future?&nbsp;Be sure to check out the rest of our blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are nearly 40 million unintentional injuries every year. Unfortunately, many of these are a result of someone else&#8217;s negligence. Those who end up injured due to another party failing to fulfill their responsibilities often file a lawsuit in order to receive compensation. A large part of this process, though, involves a phase called &#8216;discovery&#8217; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6032"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6034,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6032\/revisions\/6034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}