Understanding the Steps of a Truck Accident Injury Claim

The next step is called the discovery process. Discovery is an information gathering period that can include:

● Requests for admissions. These requests ask those involved to admit or deny the truth of a statement. 

● Interrogatories. Interrogatories are written questions or requests for information. More open-ended than a request for admission, these are often simply sent back and forth between parties.

● Requests for production. This is a request for documents, electronic information, or other tangible materials that can provide information necessary for the claim.

● Depositions. Under oath, witnesses and other pertinent parties are questioned. This typically takes place in an attorney’s office rather than a court.

Once information has been gathered and shared, attorneys for either side may request a pre-trial motion. The attorneys will meet in court to present any motion they deem necessary before the trial begins. This could include motions such as those to suppress some pieces of evidence or dismiss part or all of the claim. A judge will hear the motions and make decisions.
 

Next, both sides can meet to once again attempt to resolve the case. This is known as mediation. If it is not possible to reach an agreement, the case will go to trial.

A truck accident injury trial would operate as most other trial situations. Attorneys for both sides will present their claims and evidence to support those claims. A judge or jury will decide who is at fault and, in South Carolina, evaluate the comparative negligence. With comparative negligence, fault is assigned to all parties involved using a percentage. It could be that the truck driver is 100 percent at fault, and the victim could recover full damages. Or, the victim may be assigned some level of responsibility. In Myrtle Beach, victims can recover damages equal to the other driver’s degree of fault. So, if the victim was found to be going slightly faster than the speed limit at the time of the crash, he may be assigned 10 percent of fault. He would then recover 90 percent of the damages determined by the court.