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Taking the Mystery Out of Examinations For Discovery

Written by admin on . Posted in Civil Procedure, Uncategorized.

As I previously discussed in the below video, examination for discovery is a process where the opposing side in a BC Supreme Court lawsuit can bring you in front of a Court Reporter and get your sworn answers to questions about relevant topics. Discoveries are designed to learn about your case and to hurt your case.  It is one of the most important pre-trial steps in Injury litigation and a Plaintiff’s performance can play a key role in whether the case settles or proceeds to trial.
Most people have some anxiety and apprehension before discovery.  One reason for this is because the discovery process is unfamiliar and often Plaintiff’s don’t know what to expect.  The best way to ease this anxiety is to learn about the process ahead of time.  To that end I’ll let you in on a secret:  Most Defence lawyers in ICBC claims use a cheat sheet to guide their questions.  This cheat sheet is the Law Society of BC Practice Checklists Manual and the most up to date version was recently released by the BC Law Society.  You don’t need to be a lawyer to get a copy, it’s available free on-line and can be found here.
Most ICBC defence lawyers use this or a similar checklist to structure their questions.  More junior lawyers typically follow the script fairly closely while more experienced lawyers deviate frequently.  Whoever your opposing lawyer may be you can bet they will cover many of the topics highlighted on this checklist at your examination for discovery.
If you spend some time going over this form you will learn not only what types of areas will be covered at your discovery but also why these questions will be asked.  With this knowledge hopefully the discovery process will be a little less mysterious and less stressful.

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