Protecting Insurer-Obtained Statements From Discovery

It is common in trucking cases for insurers or their adjusters to obtain statements from the insured driver or other important witnesses after the accident is reported to the carrier. It also is common for plaintiffs' attorneys to ask for any statements about the accident in discovery, causing the defense to disclose at the very least the existence of the insurer-obtained statements. These statements are particularly desirable from the claimant's point of view because they provide valuable information − a contemporaneous description of the accident. As a result, plaintiffs' attorneys will often fight to obtain these statements, resulting in contentious discovery battles during litigation.