Articles Posted in Litigation Process

I am involved in a lawsuit and I had to answer interrogatories.  How do lawyers use interrogatories at trial?

Interrogatories are written questions sent from one party in a lawsuit to an opposing party about issues related to the lawsuit.  For example, in a lawsuit arising from a motor vehicle collision, each driver may send interrogatories to the other ask for driving histories, including whether the opposing driver has ever received a driving citation. The party responding to interrogatories must sign a statement swearing or affirming that the responses to the interrogatories are true.

How are answers used at trial?   Assume for example that you were served with an interrogatory that asked if you were aware of any witness to the car wreck involved in the case.  Assume that you said in answer to the interrogatory that  you were not aware of any witnesses, but then attempted to call an eyewitness at trial.  Unless the opposing party had knowledge of the eyewitness by some other means, the trial judge may well exclude the eyewitness from testifying at trial because you did not include the name and address of the eyewitness in your interrogatory answers.  

I am a truck driver  with a big trucking company in Clarksville, Tennessee.  I hurt my back unloading a truck.  The doctor says that I need an MRI but my boss says they are too expensive.  Does my employer have to pay for the MRI? 

If the company doctor says you need a particular test or treatment, you are almost certainly entitled to it.  Employers are obligated to pay all reasonable medical care for employees who are hurt on the job. It will be very hard to argue that he doctor selected by your employer to care for you has unreasonably suggested that you need a MRI.

An experienced worker’s compensation attorney can help you get the medical care you deserve and, if you have a long-term problem as a result of your injury, help you receive benefits for permanent partial disability. 

I have read this stuff about Herman Cain and the claims of sexual harassment against him.  I also heard that there was a confidentiality agreement as part of the settlement with the woman or women.  What is a confidentiality agreement?

A confidentiality agreement is a part of some settlement agreements in some types of civil litigation.  Typically, confidentiality agreements prohibit the parties from discussing the terms of the settlement with any one other than attorneys and financial advisors.  Confidentiality agreements may also include anti-disparagement provisions, which means that each of the parties to the agreement are prohibited from saying disparaging things about the other parties.  It is not uncommon for these agreements to provide that the parties are cannot talk about the facts giving rise to suit, the lawsuit itself, or the terms of the settlement, but can say that "the case was settled on terms mutually acceptable to all concerned" or words to that effect.

Confidentiality agreements are common in settlements of medical malpractice cases, products liability cases, employment cases, and very large personal injury and wrongful death cases.  They are used in other types of cases as well. 

I was hurt in an intersection wreck case about nine months ago.  It wasn’t my fault.  I have been waiting for over a year for the case to settle.  I lost three months of wages and have had to pay some medical bills that were not covered by my health insurance.  Can I get the insurance company to pay interest on my settlement?  It doesn’t seem fair that they can delay my settlement and not have to pay interest.

Not under Tennessee law.   Tennessee law does not permit the recovery of interest in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits.  Some states to have such a law and it encourages insurance companies to act more promptly and be more reasonable in their evaluation of cases.

The only exception to this rule is if you win a case.  When you win a judgment is entered by the court you are permitted to recover interest.  Interest accrues at the rate of 10% per year on the amount of the judgment that is unpaid.  

I have a truck wreck case pending in Tennessee state court.  My financial situation is bad and it looks like I have to file bankruptcy.  What effect will that have on my personal injury case? 

First, I urge you to talk to your personal injury lawyer before filing bankruptcy.  This is essential.

Second, if you file bankruptcy you must list your pending lawsuit as an asset.  Failure to do so will create a big problem for you.  Then, you truck accident case lawyer must get approval of the bankruptcy trustee and the bankruptcy court to continue to represent you.  

I saw a car wreck last year.  Apparently a lawsuit was filed and now they want to take my deposition.  I got a subpoena saying I have to show up at some lawyer’s office and give a deposition.  Do I have to do it? 

Yes.  There are a couple technical rules that the lawyer had to follow concerning proper notice of the deposition, proper service of the subpoena, selecting a proper location for the deposition, but assuming the lawyer did those things right then you have to show up unless you receive permission from the lawyer issuing the subpoena not to show up.

Sometimes lawyers will subpoena a person to a deposition only because the person refuses to have an informal meeting with them and discuss the case.  If that is true in your situation, you may wish to meet with the lawyer and perhaps the deposition will be canceled.  Remember, however, that there are probably at least two lawyers involved in the case and the lawyer for each of the parties to the case will want to know what you saw.  So, it might actually be easier for you give a deposition.

I was involved in a car wreck in Springfield, Tennessee last Spring and last Friday I got sued.  What do I do now? 

First, call your insurance agent and tell him or her that you have been sued.  

Second, your agent may tell you to send the papers to him or her.  Do it promptly.  Make sure you can prove that you sent the papers.  If the agent gives you the name, address and telephone number of someone else who needs to receive the papers, send the papers to that person.  Once again, make sure you can prove that you sent the papers.

My lawyer just settled my Tennessee personal injury case.  I signed the check and the other papers.  Now my lawyer says I can’t have the money for ten days because he has to hold the check in his trust account until it clears.  That can’t be right.  Is he just skimming the interest off my money? 

No.  Your lawyer is doing exactly what he is required to do.  Lawyers must maintain a separate bank account known as a trust account.  It is for client funds – and only for client funds.  When a check is deposited into that account, the lawyer cannot write a check out of that account until the deposited check clears the bank.  For out-of-state banks, that can take ten business days.  Sometimes the check can clear more quickly, but ten business days is a standard time.

Your lawyer is not making interest on the money.  The interest that is earned is taken by the bank and given to the Tennessee Bar Foundation which in turn donates the money to advance justice.  Thus, your lawyer has no financial reason to hold your money one second longer than he must to meet the ethical obligations involved in administering a trust account.