California Personal Injury and Bike Accident Attorney - Discovery; Written Interrogatories

As a matter of tactics, some questions will be answered although they may be objectionable. For instance, there is always an element of co-operation among opposing California personal injury attorneys. Some clients mistake this for collusion. It is not. California personal injury attorneys will normally co-operate in accommodating each other's schedules, granting extensions of time to answer interrogatories, and sometimes furnishing information informally. If this cooperation does not exist, much time is wasted in forcing each side to do what is otherwise required.

The party receiving the questions has thirty days to mail answers and objections to the propounding party. If answers are not timely mailed, and if the receiving party is not granted an extension of time by the propounding party all questions must be answered and no objections are permitted. When your California bike accident attorney receives interrogatories, he will normally mail them to you and have you write proposed answers. This will be followed by a conference with your attorney and the final answers will be discussed.

You must answer all discovery promptly or you will put your attorney in a position of waiving objections to answers.

If the receiving party unjustifiably refuses to answer some or all of the interrogatories, a motion to compel answers is made in open court, and sanctions are sought against the offending party (usually a fine of several hundred dollars). If the receiving party still refuses to answer, the court will strike his pleadings and the case will proceed without the offending party or his attorney. Needless to say, this is not a desirable result for the offending party.

SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES
Form Interrogatories are only the beginning of discovery. Many additional questions must be asked of the other side. In addition to form interrogatories, a party is entitled to prepare thirty-five specially prepared interrogatories.

An example of specially prepared interrogatories is set forth below. In this case, an accident has occurred in the entrance to a shopping mall. Plaintiff contends that the accident, a slip and fall, was caused by the negligent design of the entrance to the mall.

The propounding party will attach a prologue to his Special Interrogatories. In this particular instance the following prologue was used:
Pursuant to the California Code of Civil Procedure, you are requested to answer the following Interrogatories under oath, separate and fully, within the minimum time prescribed by law.