Client Review by Trucker Injured in 3 Semi CrashWhat are interrogatories?
Interrogatories in a truck accident case are written questions sent to another party in the case, typically the trucking company or truck driver, to be answered under oath. They are one of the major tools in truck accident discovery and are often one of the first used after a truck crash suit is filed. Truck accident interrogatories can be a fast and relatively inexpensive way to get information about the other side’s case. Depending on court rules, we may send interrogatories with the petition or complaint filed to start your case or later to the attorney for the trucking company and its driver.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 33 describes the basic procedure for using interrogatories in United States District Courts. Rules governing the use of interrogatories in state courts vary. Some are patterned after or follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Court rules often limit the number of interrogatories each side can send to another party. Common limits are 25 or 30 interrogatories, including subparts. Interrogatories must generally be answered within 30 days. Parties being served with truck accident interrogatories, generally can, and sometimes do, request an extension of this time limit.
What kinds questions are asked in interrogatories?
Questions asked in truck accident interrogatories may range from very specific, detailed questions to broader ones. The party sending interrogatories must be careful not to ask questions that are too broad because interrogatories can be objected to as being “overly broad”. The party being asked the question could then refuse to provide the information requested on this basis.
Some things we might use interrogatories to the trucking company and its driver to ask for information about are the employment record of the truck driver involved in your wreck, drug and alcohol testing administered to the truck driver, technology like dashcams that the company uses in its trucks, insurance coverage for your crash, the trucking company’s investigation of the crash, experts that the trucking company or its lawyers have consulted and other things.
The truck accident attorney representing the trucking company and its driver usually send interrogatories to the attorney for the person(s) injured in the crash. These interrogatories might include questions about personal information like your present and any past names used, current and prior addresses, birth date, and other basic information, a list of all medical treatment you received for your injuries,, the costs for this treatment and the identity of the medical providers who treated you, whether you are making a claim for lost wages in if so, the amount claimed and more.
The defendants’ truck accident lawyer may also ask personal questions about your prior injuries and medical treatment. One of the reasons for this is to try to uncover previous injuries or medical problems affecting the parts of the body for which you are claiming injury and establish a basis for defending the case by claiming that your injuries were “pre-existing”.
Can you object to interrogatories?
Absolutely. Objections to interrogatories are very common. Some typical objections are that the interrogatory is requests information is not proportional to the needs of the case, burdensome in that it seeks information that would be very time consuming or requests information which would be considered “attorney work product”. Statements that the attorney obtained from potential witnesses in the case and legal memoranda which the attorney prepared analyzing issues in the case or discussing case strategy are examples of information which, which would be protected as “work product”. An objections to an interrogatory requesting this type of information would be entirely proper. These are just some examples of the typical objections to interrogatory questions.
improper objections and incomplete Information
Unfortunately, interrogatory objections all too common. Sorting out whether an objection to an interrogatory is proper or improper usually starts with communication between the lawyers involved. In some cases the attorneys can resolve the issue between themselves. Then the party to whom the interrogatory was sent can provide additional information as the lawyers have agreed. If the lawyers cannot are not able to resolve the issues involved, they may involve the judge handling the case usually by some combination of a phone conference with the judge or a written motion to order the party to answer the interrogatory.
When incomplete information is provided in an interrogatory answer the side providing the answer may be obligated to “supplement” their answer.
The party answering the interrogatories is required to provide sworn answers answers, which means that they must answer truthfully and may be subject to criminal prosecution if they answer falsely. False interrogatory answers may in some cases also be used to attack the credibility of the party when testifying at trial.