If you’ve been injured by someone else and decide to file a personal injury claim, one of the first processes you’ll likely go through is “the discovery phase.”
For your personal injury lawyer and the lawyer representing the person who caused the accident, the process of discovery is necessary to obtain facts and testimony that may be important to the case.
In this issue, the Alaska personal injury lawyers with Barber and Associates will give you the steps of the discovery process so you’ll have good understanding of what to expect.
The Four Steps of Discovery in a Personal Injury Claim
At its core, discovery is essentially the exchange of information between all of the people involved in your claim. This includes sharing facts of the case, evidence related to it and witness information.
The discovery phase is usually completed before any negotiations about settlements begin in earnest, and definitely well before a trial starts.
- The written phase. During this stage, your lawyer will issue a series of questions to be answered by the defendant’s lawyer. This can include legal theories, information about insurance related to the accident, a description of your injuries and the medical treatment you’ve already received.
- Request for documents. This phase is used to collect documentation related to your accident. It can include copies of medical reports, police accident reports, photographs taken at the accident scene, records of maintenance for all vehicles involved in an accident, etc.
- Request for admission. Your side may or may not go receive this, but in essence, it’s a request for the other person to admit to the truthfulness of a particular statement related to your case. The advantage of this is that if the other person confirms at this stage that a particular statement is true, then you don’t have to worry about proving it later in court. If the other side doesn’t answer at all after a certain amount of time, they are admitting to the truthfulness of the statement.
- While it’s recorded and transcribe by a court reporter, a deposition is held away from a courtroom…usually in an attorney’s conference room. Depositions are vital to capturing important information before it’s lost in the haze of time.
The Importance of Hiring an Alaska Personal Injury Lawyer if You’ve Been Hurt.
We understand that the legal landscape can seem intimidating for many people. If you’ve been hurt because of someone else’s negligence, we can lift the burden of litigation from your shoulders while you concentrate on your recovery.
We’ll guide through every step of the process to make sure you get the justice and compensation you deserve.
For a free consultation, call Barber & Associates at 800-478-5858. You can also reach us via email or by completing our online contact form.