Articles Posted in Litigation Process

I have a personal injury lawsuit.  My lawyer sent the driver who caused the wreck interrogatories.   We just got back the answers and some of those answers are bald-faced lies. Why does he get to lie?  How can we make him tell the truth? 

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.

If a person does not tell the truth in response to an interrogatory, the untruth will hurt that person at trial.  The degree of harm a person does to his case when he does not tell the truth depends on many factors.  For instance, was the untruth intentional or just careless?  Was the untruth about a relatively minor thing or a major thing?   Is there a single untruth or are there multiple untruths?  When confronted with the untruth, did the person admit it or deny it?   There are other factors as well, but you get the point:  the circumstances control how much harm a mistake or lie in answers to interrogatories (or in oral testimony at a deposition or trial for that matter) will hurt one’s case or help the opponent’s case.

I have a personal injury lawsuit.  What is the likelihood that it will go to trial?

Statistically, it is very unlikely your case will go to trial.  Personal injury cases are a type of tort (civil wrong) case.  In Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2010, there were 10,469 tort cases filed in the entire state.  This may seem like a lot of cases, but remember that there are over 6,000,000 Tennesseans, millions of cars on the road driven by Tennesseans and citizens of other states, etc.

During the same period, the court system resolved 10,872 cases.  The vast majority of those cases were settled or dismissed by the court.  There were only 588 trials.  Of the 588 trials, only 283 were jury trials.  The other 305 trials were non-jury trials (cases decided by a judge without the help of a jury).

I was hurt in a car wreck case and filed a lawsuit.  My deposition was taken two months ago and I haven’t heard anything about my case since then.  What’s going on?

You should call your lawyer and ask.  What is probably going on is that the lawyer is gathering other information to prepare your case for trial or make a settlement demand.  But, feel free to call or email your lawyer and ask (a) what has happened in the last two months and (b) what is the plan for moving the case toward settlement or trial.

 I have a trial in two weeks in Nashville.  What should I wear to court?  It is a jury trial.

That always depends on the type of case being heard by the jury.  We generally advise our clients tost to dress in such a way to show respect for the court. This usually means a suit or coat and tie.  For women, a conservative dress or skirt and blouse is appropriate.  Shoes should be clean, polished and conservative.

In some Tennessee counties it is appropriate to wear slacks or pants and a clean, pressed shirt. Jeans, shorts, tank tops, t-shirts and sandals should never be worn to court.  Also, you should not wear any clothes that would be considered "flashy."

Am I permitted to talk to the jury during my trial?

No.  You should avoid talking with the jury at any other time, even if you meet a member of the jury in the hallway or restroom.  No one can speak directly with the jury except the judge;s court officer.

Of course, the jury will hear you testify.  But you should avoid any other contact with the jury whatsoever.  The jury will be told by the judge that they cannot talk with any lawyer or witness in the case, and therefore the jury will not hold it against you if you follow the judge’s instructions.

I have a trial that starts in two weeks.  Will I be able to eat and drink in the courtroom?

No.  You will be able to have water when you testify on the witness stand, but otherwise eating and drinking are not permitted in the courtroom when court is in session.  There is usually a morning, lunch and afternoon break, so it is highly unlikely that you will go more than 2 hours without the opportunity to eat, get a drink, or use the restroom.

I have a personal injury case going to trial.  My lawyer says that my medical doctor cannot be forced to come to a trial and that we have to introduce her testimony via a deposition.  I think she will make a good witness and I want her there.  Can’t we just issue a subpoena and force her to come to trial?

Under Tennessee law, you can issue a subpoena for a doctor but she has to invoke a special law that gives doctors an exemption from subpoena to court.   The judge has the power to say that the law giving the exemption should not apply in your case, but that is very unlikely based on the facts that you have stated.

One way to enhance the doctor’s deposition is to take it via video.   The video is then shown to the jury and they will have an easier way to judge the doctor’s credibility.

How many cases does the Tennessee Supreme Court hear per year?

Here is the data for the fiscal year ending June 20, 2009, the last year available as of the date of this writing.

First, the Tennessee Supreme Court has to decide only certain types of cases.  It was  asked to hear about 825 cases during the fiscal year.  It decided to hear about 56 cases.   Trying to decide what cases should be reviewed takes a lot of work.  Each judge must review the written papers filed in support of the request for hearing (and the papers of the opponent which argue that the case should not be heard) to decide whether the case should advance to the Court.  At least 2 of the 5 judges must agree that the case should be heard.

I received a back injury at work.  I told my employer about it, told him I needed to see a doctor and he fired me on the spot.   What are my rights?

You have a right to receive medical treatment for you back injury.  To the extent that miss work you have a right to receive "temporary total disability" payments until you are released by your doctor to go back to work.  You also have a right to another payment for "permanent partial disability" if you have a long-term problem as a result of your injury.  The fact that your employer fired you will impact the amount of a permanent partial disability payment you are eligible to receive if you have a long-term injury.

You will need the help of an experienced worker’s compensation lawyer to help you with this problem.  Feel free to contact our office at 615.742.4880.  We will be happy to discuss this matter with you and help you if we can.   There is no charge for an initial consultation, and if we are able to help you we will accept your case on a contingent fee.

I am in a lawsuit in Tennessee.  The other side has served a set of request for production of documents.  There are 60 different requests.  Do I have to turn over all of this stuff?  Is there no limit to the number of requests for production?

Your lawyer will be able to tell you what you have to turn over and what you do not, but generally speaking there is no limit to the number of requests for production of documents.  Many local rules of court limit the number of interrogatories that can be served, and it is possible that local rules may limit the number of requests for production, but I do not ever remember seeing a limit on requests.

Absent a numerical limit, the only limitation on requests for production of documents is that they must seek relevant evidence or information reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence and cannot seek information deemed "priviliged" under the law.  Once again, your lawyer will review each request with that standard in mind, and will object when appropriate.