Sample Truck Accident Interrogatories to Truck Owner

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND

Patrick Jackson- Plaintiff

v

OfficeMax North America- Defendant

CASE NO.: 11-C-00-1234

PLAINTIFF’S INTERROGATORIES TO OFFICE OFFICEMAX

Sample Truck Accident Interrogatories to Truck Owner

TO: OfficeMax North America, Defendant Owner
BY: Patrick Jackson Plaintiff

Plaintiff, by and through his attorneys, Ronald V. Miller, Jr., Laura G. Zois and Miller & Zois, LLC, requests that Defendant OfficeMax answer the following Interrogatories fully, under oath and in accordance with the Maryland Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 2-421, subject to the instructions set forth below:

Instructions

1. These Interrogatories are continuing in character so as to require you to file supplementary answers if you obtain further or different information before trial.
2. Unless otherwise stated, these Interrogatories refer to the time, place and circumstances of the occurrence mentioned or complained of in Plaintiff’s Complaint.
3. Where name and identity of a person is required, please state full name, home address and business address, if known.
4. Where knowledge or information in possession of a party is requested, such request includes knowledge of the party’s agents, representatives and, unless privileged, attorneys. When an answer is made by corporate defendant, please state the name, address and title of the person supplying the information and making the affidavit, and announce the source of his or her information.
5. The pronoun “you” refers to the party to whom the Interrogatories are addressed and the parties mentioned in clause (d).
6. “Identify” when referring to a: (a) person, means to state his or her full name, telephone number, present or last known home address, his or her job title or titles, by whom employed and address of the place of employment; (b) public or private corporation, partnership, association, or other organization, or to a governmental agency, means to state its full name and present or last known pertinent business address and phone number.

Interrogatories

1. Identification & Authority: State in what capacity you are authorized to respond to these interrogatories on behalf of Defendant OfficeMax, your full name, current home address and home addresses for the past ten (10) years, date of birth, social security number, your affiliation to Defendant OfficeMax, the length of time employed by Defendant OfficeMax, current title and position, and positions held by you for the last ten (10) years, as well as the complete legal name of Defendant OfficeMax, any trade name by which Defendant OfficeMax is identified or under which Defendant OfficeMax conducts business, any parent companies or subsidiaries and the address and telephone number of your principal office.
2. Owner & Driver: State the name and address of the owner and the driver of the vehicle that was involved in the occurrence, including the driver’s date of birth, and social security number.
3. Driver’s Employment: Please state whether the driver listed in the interrogatory above was employed by Defendant OfficeMax on the date of the collision. If so, describe his position and when he began working for Defendant OfficeMax.
4. People With Personal Knowledge: Identify any individual of whom you are aware who has personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances of this case, including eyewitnesses, people claiming to be eyewitnesses and any individuals who arrived on the scene within five (5) hours after the occurrence, and the nature of your relationship to each person.
5. Investigation: If anyone investigated this matter for you, including medical experts, private investigators or insurance adjusters, state their name(s) and address(es), and state whether such investigation was reduced to writing, and the substance of their investigation and findings. If said investigator obtained any signed, recorded, transcribed or oral statement from any individual, identify the person who gave the statement and the present custodian of such statement.
6. Photos & Drawings: If you know of the existence of any pictures, photographs, plats, visual recorded images, police reports, diagrams or objects relative to the occurrence, the Plaintiff’s physical condition, or the scene of the occurrence, identify the substance of such recording and the present custodian of each such item.
7. Statements: Do you know of any statement, conversation, comment, testimony or report made by any party to this lawsuit or witness, including Plaintiff, made at the time of the occurrence or following the occurrence, concerning the occurrence or facts relevant to any issue in this case? If your answer is “yes,” state the content of such statement, conversation, comment or report, the place where it took place, and the custodian of such statement.
8. Expert Witnesses: State the name and specialty of all experts whom you propose to call as witnesses at trial, and for each expert state the subject matter on which the expert is expected to testify, the substance of the findings and opini
   ons to which the expert is expected to testify and attach to your Answers copies of all written reports of each such expert.
9. Contention Interrogatory Regarding Plaintiff’s Injuries: If you contend that any other entity or person, a party to or not a party to, this lawsuit, was responsible for Plaintiff’s injuries, identify such person, persons or entities, and give a concise statement of the facts upon which you rely.
10. Insurance Agreements: Please identify any policy of insurance or any insurance agreement that was in effect at the time of the occurrence and identify the type of policy, the identity of the insurance company, the policy number and the policy limits and coverage afforded under the policy or policies, and if your insurance has ever been cancelled or lapsed, please identify the carrier and when the cancellation or lapse occurred.
11. Property Damage: Identify the property damage done to each vehicle, trailer or piece of equipment as a result of the occurrence and which parts of those vehicles were damaged in the occurrence, the name and address of the person or entity who repaired the vehicle and the date and cost of repairs. If the vehicle has not been repaired, state the present location of said vehicle, the days of the week, the time of day, and the places where it may currently be seen, and identify any photographs of the vehicle(s) involved in the occurrence.
12. Drugs & Alcohol: State whether you have information about whether Defendant Sandler consumed any alcoholic beverages or drugs, prescription, over the counter, or illicit, within eight (8) hours prior to the occurrence, and if the answer is in the affirmative, state where they were obtained and consumed and the nature and amount thereof.
13. Driver’s Itinerary: State the full itinerary for the forty-eight (48) hours immediately preceding the occurrence of Defendant Sandler and vehicle involved in the occurrence, stating the place and time of the beginning of each trip, the place and time and duration of each stop, the routes taken, the final destination, the anticipated time of arrival at that destination and the details of Defendant Sandler’s sleep/drive schedule for those forty-eight (48) hours.
14. Facts of the Occurrence: Please state with specificity exactly how the occurrence took place and include in your answer the date, time and location of the occurrence, description of the vehicles (including make, model, year), where the vehicles were just prior to the occurrence, how far apart the vehicles were just prior to impact, the speed of each vehicle just before the accident, the exact location of each vehicle in relation to the roadway prior to and upon impact, and where the vehicles came to rest. If this was a chain reaction accident, identify the sequence of the impacts between the vehicles.
15. Contact With Parties and/or Witnesses: Did you, your agents, servants, employees or representatives have any conversation or contact with any of the parties to this lawsuit, any witness to the accident, or any investigator of the occurrence? If so, state the substance of such conversations and outline the contact.
16. Disciplinary Actions: Please list any disciplinary action that may have been taken against Defendant Sandler, including, but not limited to termination, as a result the occurrence or anything related thereto.
17. Contention Interrogatory Regarding Plaintiff’s Negligence: Do you contend that Plaintiff was contributory negligent or assumed the risk of her injuries? If so, state the facts upon which you rely.
18. Employment/Agency: If Defendant Sandler was not acting within the scope and course of his employment with Defendant OfficeMax at the time of the occurrence, set forth each and every fact upon which you rely to base your claim and the name, address and employer of each and every person who has knowledge of such information.
19. Notification: Following the occurrence of September 15, 2009, please state:
    1. The person at Defendant OfficeMax who was first notified of the accident?
    2. The date and time this person was notified?
    3. Whether anyone at Defendant OfficeMax created a written record regarding the occurrence, and if so, whom?
    4. Is this record kept in any Vehicle Accident Investigation File or its equivalent?
    5. Is this record kept in the ordinary course of business?
20. Prior Accidents: Please list all prior accidents in which Defendant Sandler has been involved, either with other persons or with property. Please include the name of any other driver or property owner involved, the location of the collision, the date and time of the collision, and disposition of the matter.
21. Employment Application: Did Defendant Sandler complete an application for employment or any other paperwork prior to being hired or employed by Defendant OfficeMax?; If so, identify the date the application and/or paperwork was completed and the present custodian of same.
22. Background Information: What, if any, background information did you obtain, or attempt to obtain, regarding Defendant Sandler’s driving history and/or safety record prior to engaging his services or allowing him to use your vehicle?
23. Vehicle Maintenance: What maintenance, if any, was performed on the vehicle for the six (6) months prior to the occurrence? For each such maintenance, please list the following:
    1. What prompted the maintenance visit;
    2. Who performed the maintenance;
    3. Who diagnosed the necessity for maintenance;
    4. What diagnosis was rendered;
    5. When were the repairs performed;
    6. What, if any, parts were replaced; and
    7. Did the problem reoccur? If so, when?
24. Cargo: Describe the load when the tractor trailer left that day, its number of stops, where it stopped, and the load at the time of the crash.
25. Safety Compliance: Who at Defendant OfficeMax verifies whether Defendant Sandler was in compliance with federal safety regulations?
26. Driver Training: Describe all training that Defendant OfficeMax provides or requires for its drivers/operators, and include in your answer any procedure, training or safety manuals provided to employees or independent contractors.
27. Electronic Devices: At the time of this incident, was the cab equipped with a satellite communication device or e-mail capability, including a Qualcomm system such as SensorTRACS, TrailerTRACS, ViaWeb, JTRACS, ProOmniOne, OmniExpress, FleetAdvisor, QTRACS fleet management system, TruckMAIL, GlobalTRACS, or a GPS product manufactured by any other company, or any device that can hold any ECM or PCM data? Additionally identify any data that was downloaded from the vehicle by Defendant OfficeMax after the occurrence of September 15, 2009.
28. Hiring Process: Disclose the interview process you employ before hiring any individual, including, but not limited to, any application for employment; driving test; medical evaluation; face-to-face, electronic or telephonic interview; verification of insurance information; licensing; and safety history.

Respectfully submitted,
Miller & Zois, LLC

Ronald V. Miller, Jr.
Laura G. Zois
1 South St, #2450
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 779-4600
(410) 760-8922 ( facsimile)
Attorney for Plaintiff