Per state requirements for civil claims, any injured individual seeking to recover needs to convince a court of the fault or responsibility of an alleged wrongdoer. To do such, victims need to prove fault through objective evidence. The evidence used in the Charleston workers’ compensation case was able to persuade the alleged offenders that a settlement was a better option than a trial. Because of this, the victim was able to make a substantial recovery.
If you feel as though you could benefit from the help of a legal professional with demonstrated casework experience, reach out to one today.
Exchanged Evidence During the Discovery Phase
Evidence exchanged in the discovery phase included accident reports, photographs of the accident scene, photographs of vehicles, all the documentation with regard to maintenance of the defendant’s truck, all of the documents regarding the training and hiring of the defendant driver for the truck, all of the log records to make sure that the truck driver complied with the Federal Motor Carrier Vehicle Laws, and so forth. Our firm also sent to the defense evidence for economic loss including tax returns, the reports from our expert economist with regards to past and future wage loss, the medical records, the medical bills, any opinions that were given by the medical experts, the accident reconstructionist’s opinion with regard to the cause of the accident, the vocational expert’s opinion on the ability to work, along with other requested documents. All exchanged evidence for the Charleston workers’ compensation case was used to some extent when it came time for negotiating a resolution to the case.
Explaining Interrogatories
Interrogatories are written questions that are given from one party to the other. One could ask these questions in a deposition format, but usually, they are preliminary questions. Items could include the defendant’s social security number, their date of birth information necessary to do a 10-year driver search for their driving record, criminal history, and so forth. They are questions given so that the lawyers can be prepared for depositions.
We usually ask around 48, 49, or 50 interrogatories in a simple case because state cases are limited to 50. In the Charleston workers’ compensation case, our client received 30 or 40 interrogatories, and we prepared the responses and sent them over to the defendants.
Question Sets in Depositions
Typically the types of questions that we do get asked in interrogatories include the client’s prior medical history, their prior driving history, details about lost wages both in the past and in the future, details they claim about how the accident occurred, details they claim about the injuries they sustained, and things of that nature.
Requests for Admissions
Our firm did file a request for admissions on behalf of our client in this case. Typically, we file a request for admissions after we have done our depositions of lay witnesses and expert witnesses, and we try to narrow the issues about what is admitted and what is denied. We want to make sure the defendants admit that the medical bills are authentic and/or admissible in evidence so that we are able to avoid having to bring a record custodian from various doctor’s offices in order to get the medical records or bills. It is case-specific. Every case has the same sets of facts, and we want to try to narrow the issues based upon what has been admitted or the testimony of lay and expert witnesses throughout the discovery process.
Speak to an Attorney to Learn More About the Evidence Used in the Charleston Workers’ Compensation Case
When victims of accidents or on-the-job injuries reach out to an attorney, it becomes the attorney’s job, once retained, to gather the necessary evidence that could yield a favorable courtroom outcome. The evidence used in the Charleston workers’ compensation case was conclusive-enough to convince the opposing party to settle outside of court. Had the victim not contacted an attorney, they would have not likely recovered what they needed for their injuries.
If you feel as though you could benefit from an attorney, reach out to a dedicated legal professional today.
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