The discovery process in Portland truck accident cases is complicated.
After suffering injuries in a truck wreck that someone else caused, the only thing you should have to focus on is healing – not trying to figure out the legal system.
Let an experienced Portland truck accident attorney from Rizk Law handle the whole legal process for you. Call today for your free consultation.
What Discovery Means in a Portland Truck Accident Lawsuit
Once someone files a personal injury lawsuit in Oregon, the case proceeds to the discovery stage of litigation. During discovery, the parties exchange evidence and information so that each side has the relevant facts of the case.
The parties don’t just hand over information freely, though. The other side must make specific requests for types of information that they believe will help their case.
The Portland truck accident discovery process includes written requests for production, interrogatories, depositions, and even medical examinations. The parties determine what information they need, then choose the discovery tool most likely to produce it.
Key Evidence Sought During Truck Accident Discovery
Evidence comes in many forms, and your lawyer will take advantage of as many discovery processes as necessary to get the evidence that is essential to your case.
Truck accident lawsuit discovery in Oregon can obtain relevant evidence such as:
- Photos of the accident, vehicle damage, injuries, skid marks, debris, and spilled cargo
- Digital footage from CCTVs, traffic cameras, and dashcams
- Accident reconstructionist reports
- Paper logbooks from the truck driver
- Event data recorder (black box) data from the truck
- Maintenance and inspection records, including post-crash inspection reports
- The trucker’s personnel records
- The trucker’s driving record
- The trucking company’s hiring procedures
- Reports from third-party investigators, like Oregon DOT investigators or the National Transportation Safety Board
A lawyer can obtain all these types of evidence through a request for production, as well as depose witnesses to gather other proof.
Nearly anyone with information about the accident can be deposed. Your attorney may want to depose any witnesses to the crash, any experts who prepared reports about the accident, the truck driver, or a company representative.
Additional evidence discovery in truck accident cases can come from medical examinations that either your lawyer or the at-fault party’s insurer or lawyer requests.
Tools and Challenges in the Oregon Truck Accident Discovery Process
Your attorney can utilize the correct tools to obtain critical evidence and combat any issues throughout the discovery phase, which may include the following.
Interrogatories
Interrogatories are written questions one side sends to the other to obtain information. Answers to these questions are given under oath.
Interrogatories can include information specific to the accident. However, they can also cover questions about the parties’ medical and mental health, marital status, employment history, and finances to get a clear picture of the person.
Written Discovery Requests
Written discovery requests, or requests for production, can seek the release of copies of:
- Documents
- Photographs
- Videos
- Digital media
- Physical evidence
- Any other materials related to the accident
Depositions
Both the injured party’s lawyer and the at-fault party’s lawyer can request depositions in truck accident cases.
Depositions usually occur in a law office or conference room. The lawyers for both sides, the court reporter, and the person being deposed (the deponent) are present.
The lawyer from the other side will ask the deponent questions about the accident and about themselves. The process allows each side to get a better idea of how their witnesses will testify and any weaknesses or inconsistencies in the other side’s witness testimony.
Discovery Disputes
Disputes can arise about whether the at-fault party’s lawyers have to produce some of the evidence your lawyer requested. They may argue that attorney-client privilege protects the information or find some other way to avoid sharing it.
In these cases, your attorney can file a motion to compel the other side to give you the information. The judge can determine whether the other side must produce the information at a motion hearing.
Evidence Preservation Issues
Trucking companies and their insurers likely have “quick response teams” that spring into action immediately after a collision involving one of their trucks.
They will go to the accident scene to collect all the evidence, and they are not planning to let you see anything that could harm their case.
Your experienced truck accident lawyer can send out spoliation letters to the parties involved.
These letters put the trucking company on notice that they cannot destroy, overwrite, or “lose” any evidence about the accident. In some cases, your lawyer may have to file emergency motions to keep the evidence intact.
How Discovery Uncovers Trucking Company Negligence
Securing trucking company records through discovery can reveal negligence. For instance:
- Personnel records and hiring procedures should show if the company failed to do an appropriate background check on the driver.
- Truck driver logs and delivery schedules may indicate that the trucking company pushed the driver to meet tight deadlines.
- Training and operation records can reveal if the company failed to enforce safety rules or provide adequate training.
- Service and maintenance records could establish that the trucking company failed to regularly inspect their trucks or neglected maintenance.
How a Portland Personal Injury Lawyer Uses Discovery to Maximize Claims
After a lawyer has all this information, what comes next?
Your personal injury lawyer can then use the information gathered during discovery with the evidence obtained during their own investigation to build the strongest possible truck accident claim for you.
Your attorney can review all the evidence, use it to put together a compelling story of how someone else caused the wreck, and show how you were injured as a result. They’ll also strategize ways to present the evidence that make it clear you deserve maximum compensation.
Contact Our Portland Truck Accident Attorneys Today
When someone else causes a truck accident that injures you, you deserve compensation and justice.
But handling a trucking accident case on your own is difficult, especially while you’re still healing from your injuries.
Call on the experienced Portland truck accident lawyers at Rizk Law. We have recovered millions of dollars for truck accident victims in our 20 years of handling personal injury claims for Oregonians, including $900,000 for a client after a commercial truck driver T-boned them.*
Our dedication has earned us many positive reviews from our clients, such as Shane Miller, who says,
“These lawyers perform at a level to the likes I have never seen.”
Our founder is a former insurance industry insider who knows how insurance companies work and their tactics for the discovery process. We’re local. Our clients trust us. And we have proven results. Call our legal team now for your free consultation to discuss how we can pursue compensation for you.
*Each case is unique, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.