In certain Buffalo personal injury lawsuits, situations may arise where the judge is asked to determine the value of an injury without a full scale jury trial being necessary. This is usually accomplished through a damages inquest at which the parties present evidence of the injuries and losses to the judge, who will then determine the amount of damages.
A damages inquest is specifically provided for in cases where the defendant has failed to appear and the court grants the plaintiff default judgment. In this situation, the defendant is found liable by the court based on its failure to contest the case and the only issue is the damages to be awarded. The defendant – if he appears – is allowed to present evidence regarding the damages at the inquest, but he does not have the full right to confront the plaintiff’s medical providers that would be available at a trial.
On other occasions, the parties may agree that a damages inquest is simply the best manner to resolve the case. This may occur, for example, when there are multiple injured parties but only a limited amount of money available from the defendant’s insurer. If the insurer makes the full amount of insurance available but the parties cannot agree on how it should be divided up, one solution is to ask the judge to conduct a damages inquest to determine the proper allocation for each plaintiff.
If you have suffered a personal injury and have any questions, we would like to speak with you. Please call us at 716-542-5444.
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