Buffalo personal injury attorneys have several methods that may use to discover information from the opposing parties. Interrogatories are one of the more uncommon methods used in personal injury cases.
Basically, interrogatories are a series of questions that one party submits in writing to another party requesting information that they believe is relevant to the case. The party receiving the questions is then expected to provide a response under oath. While interrogatories are frequently used in federal court, New York State law imposes limitations on interrogatories in state court cases that have made them much less prevalent.
First, in cases where negligence is the grounds for a claim of personal injury, injury to property, or wrongful death, a party must choose whether he or she wishes to submit interrogatories or conduct a deposition of the other party. A deposition requires that the other party personally appear and answer questions, which is often preferred by New York State attorneys because it gives them a chance to personally observe how that party handles providing testimony.
Also, New York State law bars a party from asking another party in a personal injury lawsuit to respond to both interrogatories and to a Request for a Bill of Particulars. Since the type of questions that may be posed in these two documents often overlap, it is usually preferable to submit the Request for a Bill of Particulars and still be able to conduct a deposition of the other party instead of just submitting interrogatories.
{ 0 comments… add one now }