Many clients who are litigating their work injury claims in Arizona call us after they receive a large packet of information from the attorney representing the insurance carrier. One of the most intimidating contents of this packet are the “interrogatories”, which are a series of (usually 25) written questions about the injury, witnesses, medical treatment received, and legal defenses/arguments that will be presented at hearing.
I rarely answer interrogatories for two reasons: (1) the insurance company’s attorney will be taking your deposition (under oath) soon anyways so they can get the information verbally at that time; (2) they’re a huge waste of time.
However, if the carrier’s attorney insists on getting answers to the Interrogatories, it is always advisable to answer them. Sometimes, the attorney will ask the judge presiding over your case to issue an Order compelling you to answer the interrogatories. If you receive such an order from the judge, answer the interrogatories IMMEDIATELY. Failure to do so can result in your request for hearing being dismissed or the judge entering some other sanction against you, including having the pay the attorney’s fees of the carrier’s attorney for the time spent forcing you to answer.
If you have questions about Interrogatories that you’ve received, the deposition, or the hearing process or your workman’s comp claim in general, please contact Snow, Carpio, and Weekley at (602) 532-0700 or (520) 647-9000.
