Many people are aware that if they are injured due to someone’s negligence in a car accident, slip and fall incident, medical malpractice, or other situations, an experienced personal injury attorney can file a legal claim to obtain financial compensation. However, the details of the process and the problems that can occur if you say or do the wrong thing are not well understood.
With decades of experience working to obtain the maximum damage award for those who have been injured by the wrongdoing of others, the team at Searcy Denney knows that it is a good idea for every accident victim to understand how to protect their right to recovery and what needs to happen in order for them to obtain full compensation. In many cases, a request for production is a key part of the process, so here’s what it means and how it works in the context of a personal injury lawsuit.
Information is Power in a Lawsuit
Whether you are the party suing to obtain relief or the party defending against the claim and trying to avoid paying damages, you want to obtain as much information as possible about all aspects of the claim and the incidents leading up to it. Knowledge is power, particularly when that knowledge is backed by evidence that you can introduce in court. Having the right information allows you to prove that you are entitled to compensation under the law—and how much compensation you should receive. If you are on the defense side, the right information can enable you to prove that you are not legally responsible and don’t need to pay anything.
Although people tend to picture lawyers arguing aloud in court when they think of lawsuits, the fact is that most of the work occurs long before anyone enters the courtroom, and the case is often won or lost based on the information gathered during the phase of the lawsuit known as discovery.
Lawyers Use a Variety of Discovery Tools to Acquire Information
After the lawyer representing the victim of a truck accident or other incident files a lawsuit against the individual or company responsible for causing the accident and injuries, that party has a chance to file an answer in court, and then the case enters what is known as the discovery phase. This phase is usually the longest part of the legal process.
During the discovery phase of a case, both parties investigate to determine what happened and why. They conduct independent investigations, but they also use legal tools to gain information from each other. These discovery tools include:
- Interrogatories
- Depositions
- Requests for Admissions
- Requests for Examinations or Inspections
- Requests for Production
Interrogatories are written questions submitted for written responses from the other party. Depositions are sessions where parties meet in person for oral question-and-answer sessions. When someone files a request for admission, they are asking the other party to admit to certain facts so that the scope of the case is more focused. A request for an examination or inspection involves getting an exam by a doctor or allowing the opportunity to examine tangible items held in the other party’s possession.
So, what is a request for production? It amounts to a demand for one party to hand over documents to the other party. Florida law requires parties to a case to cooperate in the discovery process, but sometimes, an attorney can present a legally valid reason for refusing to provide certain information or limiting the scope of the information.
What Kinds of Documents are Involved in a Request for Production?
Attorneys for both sides will usually file requests for the production of documents in a personal injury case. For instance, the attorney representing a person injured in a collision with a dump truck may request the maintenance records of the truck to find out when the brakes and other components were last inspected. Or the attorneys representing the trucking company may request the medical records of the accident victim to determine the severity of the injuries and their connection to the collision.
A request for production could include documents involving:
- Employment history of the victim (to determine damages for lost wages)
- The driver’s training and disciplinary records
- Company policies
- Records from individual doctors as well as medical facilities
- Maintenance logs
- Accident reports
In addition to requesting documents, a request for production could also involve a request to provide footage from surveillance cameras or other evidence.
What Role Do Requests for Production Play in Your Case?
As we noted above, information is power in a lawsuit, and a request for production is often one of the most effective ways of gaining information. However, you need to know what to ask for and how to examine the documents once you have them to obtain the details that are critical to proving your case. This is where the experience of your legal team makes all the difference.
Attorneys with the right skills and experience will know which information to request initially and how to follow up with further requests based on the information revealed in the initial request. At the same time, they will know how to comply with requests from the other side without unnecessarily revealing information that could prove harmful to the case.
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