Articles Posted in Litigation Process

 I have a medical malpractice case.  There are two doctors and a hospital that have been sued.  My lawyer says the case won’t be tried for two years.  Why is that?  How much work is involved?

It doesn’t surprise me that it would take two years to get your case to trial in Tennessee and, depending on where you live in the state, that may be a relatively quick amount of time to get to trial.

Your question requires much more information to give a more accurate answer, but let me say this generally.  The main factors that affect how quickly a case gets to trial are the diligence, expertise, and experience of the lawyers involved, the number of parties to the case (more parties = more lawyers = more scheduling difficulties), the nature of the dispute (more complicated = more time), the ability of the trial judge to control the lawyers,  the amount of cases pending before the trial judge (more cases increases the time to get to trial because more cases are contributing for the same trial dates), and whether the county where the case is pending is urban or rural (in rural areas judges sit in multiple counties and may hold trials in a small county only  a couple times per year).

My deposition was taken today and it lasted all day.  There was a court reporter and a videographer there.  How much does it cost to have a deposition recorded by the two of them?

In my experience in Tennessee, court reporters have several types of charges.  The main charges are the per diem charge, which is the charge for showing up, using billed in full-day or half-day increments, and a per-page charge, which is the cost of each page of transcript.  There are two types of per page charges, one for the "original" transcript on and one for each copy.  The person taking the deposition pays for the original and the per diem.  The person whose deposition is taken pays for the copy.

Videographers typically charge a base fee plus and hourly charge to the person taking the deposition.  The person whose deposition was taken pays for a disc containing the deposition.

I have a truck wreck case pending in Tennessee and the trucking company has subpoenaed my doctor for a deposition.  Can they do that?

Yes, if the doctor gave you treatment for injuries that arose out of the accident he or she can be required to give testimony about their treatment for those injuries.  That deposition can be taken by your lawyer or the trucking company’s lawyer.  Your lawyer (and you) have the right to be present at the deposition.

If the doctor gave you treatment for a unrelated condition, the question is more difficult to answer.  If your lawyer believes that the inquiry into treatment by this provider is wholly unrelated to the wreck and an invasion of your privacy, he or she can ask the court to stop the deposition.  The court will let the deposition proceed if it determines that doctor has information that is admissible at trial or is likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.

I have a personal injury lawsuit.  My lawyer sent the driver who caused the wreck interrogatories.   We just got back the answers and some of those answers are bald-faced lies. Why does he get to lie?  How can we make him tell the truth? 

Interrogatories are written questions sent from one party in a lawsuit to an opposing party about issues related to the lawsuit.  For example, in a lawsuit arising from a motor vehicle collision, each driver may send interrogatories to the other ask for driving histories, including whether the opposing driver has ever received a driving citation. The party responding to interrogatories must sign a statement swearing or affirming that the responses to the interrogatories are true.

If a person does not tell the truth in response to an interrogatory, the untruth will hurt that person at trial.  The degree of harm a person does to his case when he does not tell the truth depends on many factors.  For instance, was the untruth intentional or just careless?  Was the untruth about a relatively minor thing or a major thing?   Is there a single untruth or are there multiple untruths?  When confronted with the untruth, did the person admit it or deny it?   There are other factors as well, but you get the point:  the circumstances control how much harm a mistake or lie in answers to interrogatories (or in oral testimony at a deposition or trial for that matter) will hurt one’s case or help the opponent’s case.

I have a personal injury lawsuit.  What is the likelihood that it will go to trial?

Statistically, it is very unlikely your case will go to trial.  Personal injury cases are a type of tort (civil wrong) case.  In Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2010, there were 10,469 tort cases filed in the entire state.  This may seem like a lot of cases, but remember that there are over 6,000,000 Tennesseans, millions of cars on the road driven by Tennesseans and citizens of other states, etc.

During the same period, the court system resolved 10,872 cases.  The vast majority of those cases were settled or dismissed by the court.  There were only 588 trials.  Of the 588 trials, only 283 were jury trials.  The other 305 trials were non-jury trials (cases decided by a judge without the help of a jury).

I was hurt in a car wreck case and filed a lawsuit.  My deposition was taken two months ago and I haven’t heard anything about my case since then.  What’s going on?

You should call your lawyer and ask.  What is probably going on is that the lawyer is gathering other information to prepare your case for trial or make a settlement demand.  But, feel free to call or email your lawyer and ask (a) what has happened in the last two months and (b) what is the plan for moving the case toward settlement or trial.

 I have a trial in two weeks in Nashville.  What should I wear to court?  It is a jury trial.

That always depends on the type of case being heard by the jury.  We generally advise our clients tost to dress in such a way to show respect for the court. This usually means a suit or coat and tie.  For women, a conservative dress or skirt and blouse is appropriate.  Shoes should be clean, polished and conservative.

In some Tennessee counties it is appropriate to wear slacks or pants and a clean, pressed shirt. Jeans, shorts, tank tops, t-shirts and sandals should never be worn to court.  Also, you should not wear any clothes that would be considered "flashy."

Am I permitted to talk to the jury during my trial?

No.  You should avoid talking with the jury at any other time, even if you meet a member of the jury in the hallway or restroom.  No one can speak directly with the jury except the judge;s court officer.

Of course, the jury will hear you testify.  But you should avoid any other contact with the jury whatsoever.  The jury will be told by the judge that they cannot talk with any lawyer or witness in the case, and therefore the jury will not hold it against you if you follow the judge’s instructions.

I have a trial that starts in two weeks.  Will I be able to eat and drink in the courtroom?

No.  You will be able to have water when you testify on the witness stand, but otherwise eating and drinking are not permitted in the courtroom when court is in session.  There is usually a morning, lunch and afternoon break, so it is highly unlikely that you will go more than 2 hours without the opportunity to eat, get a drink, or use the restroom.