discovery of past crimes

I was hurt in a truck wreck. I could not get the case settled and I filed a lawsuit. Now the trucking company is asking me all sorts of personal questions. Can they do that?

Yes, within limits. A person who is sued has the right to ask you information about your claim and also questions reasonably designed to find evidence that might be admissible at trial. Thus, if you allege that you hurt your back in a lawsuit, they have the right to know if you ever hurt your back before and, if so, how you were hurt and what medical treatment you received.

If you claim you lost wage as a result of the accident the company has a right to know how much money you make and see documentation of your wage loss.

I was arrested for underage drinking when I was in high school 10 years ago. I was put on probation for a year. Now I got hurt in an car accident and the other driver’s lawyer wants to know if I have ever been arrested. Do I have to tell the truth about it – it happened so long ago? Is it going to come out in court that I was arrested?

Don’t worry about it. In a lawsuit your opponent gets to ask you questions about your background. The area of questions that can be asked during the "discovery" period in a lawsuit is very broad, much broader than questions that will be permitted in court at trial. So, your opponent can ask about prior arrests and you should tell the truth about what happened.

Will it come out in court? It almost certainly will not if you tell the truth about what happened. If you lie and your opponent finds out about it, what happened will probably come out in court, not because of what happened 10 years ago but the fact that you lied about it when asked in the lawsuit.

Articles Tagged with discovery of past crimes

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