If you’re involved in a car accident, you’ll probably hire a lawyer who will help you draft either a personal injury claim or case. He or she told you that while rare, your case may end up going to court.
You will be interrogated by the defendant’s lawyer during the pre-trial period in the rare event that your case actually ends up going to court. This is called the discovery period. It’s the time where the plaintiff and the defendant find out more info about the car accident. They also get the story from the other side. The courts have found interrogatories to be useful to obtain necessary information for the car accident.
When you and your personal injury lawyer create an interrogatory, it will consist of a series of questions that are relevant to the accident. The defendant will have to answer these. The defendant must answer these with the help of his or her personal injury lawyer in Halifax within the specified time frame. They will be used only if your case goes to court.
The types of questions that interrogatories ask
You’ll have a different version of the same accident in relation to the defendant. Interrogatories attempt to ‘standardize’ facts that are vital and relevant to the accident scene. These include if the defendant was speeding, distracted, under the influence while driving, you’ll be hearing the defendant’s version and vice versa. The information from the interrogatory will help you and your personal injury lawyer draft a case that will help you win. Some examples of questions asked in an interrogatory include:
● Can you tell your version of what happened during the accident?
● What was the year, make, and model you were driving when the accident occurred?
● What are the corporate address and policy number of the defendant’s insurance company?
● What was your speed when the accident occurred?
● Have you been involved in any other accidents in the past 10 years? Please provide the date, nature, and ruling on the accident.
● What are the names and addresses of all of the known witnesses?
● Were you on any medication when you got into the accident? If you were, what its name, the dosage, and the last dosage you took before the accident.
● Did you drink alcohol at least 24 hours before the accident? What were the type, amount, and time you drank it if you did?
● Where exactly did the accident take place?
● Where were you coming from and going to when the accident took place?
● Do you have any physical evidence of the accident in the form of pictures, diagrams, or sketches? Please attach them if you do!
Other things to know about interrogatories
You generally are limited to 25 questions that you can ask the defendant. You generally have 20 days to respond if the interrogatory was hand-delivered. You have 35 days if it was delivered by mail. Answering questions in an interrogatory can be complex. This is why you should only answer in the presence of your personal injury lawyer.
