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Another discovery tools used by West Palm Beach accident lawyers is the Request for Admissions. This is where either side asks the other to admit or deny certain statements. Responses are due within 30 days of the request date unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or ordered by the court. Some of the types of statements a plaintiff's attorney might ask the defendant to admit or deny are:
that the plaintiff incurred certain medical bills, that plaintiff had a loss of income as a result of injuries sustained in the car accident, plaintiff's car suffered certain damages, that defendant failed to stop at the red light, that plaintiff can no longer perform certain duties, etc. Your West Palm Beach car accident lawyer will tailor your questions to your specific case facts but these are generally the types of information your attorney will be seeking.
A Request for Admissions is a discovery tool used by attorneys to gather evidence and narrow the focus and issues in a trial. A Request for Admissions may ask the defendant to authenticate certain documents or to admit to the truthfulness of certain statements. You might ask the defendant to admit to the police report or whether he owned the vehicle which caused the crash or whether he had permission to use the vehicle. Your West Palm Beach car accident lawyer will determine whether this particular discovery tool will be useful in your case.
The plaintiff may serve a Request for Admissions upon the defendant asking them to answer certain questions within 30 days of service of the request. Failure to admit, deny, or otherwise state why defendant cannot answer to the truth of the statement(s), will deem the questions admitted without further Court order. Failure to admit the truth of a statement will allow the plaintiff's West Palm Beach car accident attorney to ask for attorney's fees and costs for having to prove the truth of the matter.
Such questions the plaintiff might consider asking are: whether the defendant's negligence caused the accident, that defendant's negligence was the proximate cause of the accident and the basis of the lawsuit at hand, that defendant owned the vehicle or had permission to use the vehicle at the time of the accident, that defendant was not paying attention to traffic conditions, medical expenses of the plaintiff, etc.
Discovery is an important tool in litigation used to collect evidence that may be presented to the Court or a jury at a trial or during settlement negotiations in your West Palm Beach car accident case. One such tool is a Request for Admissions which asks either the plaintiff or defendant to admit the truth of certain statements usually within 30 days of service of the request. Such statements might include the date of the accident, who was driving, whether there were any visual obstructions, whether the defendant could stop without hitting plaintiff's car, that defendant failed to stop or apply brakes soon enough to avoid hitting plaintiff's car, not enough distance between the two cars to avoid collision, etc.
Having a reputable West Palm Beach car accident trial attorney is critical not only for gathering discovery but responding to it as well. Remember, the other side is typically an insurance agency that does not want to give up money easily, so they will propound discovery upon the plaintiff as well.