Why Would My Lawyer Need Sworn Statements From My Doctors?

by Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC on November 3, 2010

in Buffalo Injury Questions and Answers

Doctors in the Buffalo area are busy people, and their job is to provide patients with proper medical treatment, not to spend their days giving testimony in personal injury cases.  As a result, when a personal injury attorney needs testimony from a doctor, he or she will usually try to find a way around having the treatment provider personally appear to testify.

In some cases, an attorney may be able to use a sworn statement from a medical provider in place of having that person personally appear.  This most frequently occurs if one of the parties  makes a motion in court prior to trial which disputes some aspect of the injury. 

In that situation, the attorney usually would not want, or need, to bring in a medical provider to testify at a hearing regarding the injury.  Doing so would disrupt the medical provider’s working day and take up valuable court time.  Also, because they are losing time from treating patients, medical providers will usually be paid for appearing in court, which can be expensive.  In most cases, a written statement outlining the relevant aspects of treatment will be deemed sufficient evidence for the court to use when ruling on the motion.

Sworn statements also may occasionally be used when less formal methods of trying to resolve a case, such as an arbitration hearing, are being pursued.  If, for example, an attorney wishes to clarify some aspect of the treatment, he or she may ask the individual who provided the treatment to submit a statement so that they do not have to appear and explain what occurred.

If you are undergoing medical treatment as the result of a personal injury and have any questions, please feel free to contact my office at 716-542-5444

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