Guide to Answering Questions from the Employer and Insurer About Your Workers Compensation Claim
Your Response to the Other Party’s Interrogatories Impacts Whether You Win, Lose, or Get a Fair Workers Comp Settlement. Learn What to Do When the Employer and Insurer Send You a Request for Answers to Written Interrogatories.
Many of you will receive a set of interrogatories from the insurance carrier’s lawyer soon after filing a workers comp claim or the Workers Compensation Commission schedules a hearing on your claim or the employer’s application to stop benefits. If you’re reading this article, you’ve probably received interrogatories or a motion to compel discovery answers in the past few days.
Interrogatories are written questions served by one party to another. Litigants use them to find facts and documents that strengthen their claims and defenses and pin the opposing party to one version of events.
Answering interrogatories correctly is crucial to negotiating a fair workers compensation settlement. Because the insurance company can introduce your interrogatory answers as evidence at trial, a poorly worded response may defeat your entitlement to workers comp benefits and lower the case’s value. This is true even if you recognize your mistake before trial. If your testimony at a deposition or workers compensation hearing differs from interrogatory answers, the defense attorney will use the different responses to attack your credibility and truthfulness.
This article’s purpose is to discuss how to answer interrogatories to increase the likelihood of success in your workers compensation case. Nothing replaces a skilled work injury lawyer’s advice after reviewing your case’s specific facts, but these tips are a good starting point.
To learn more about your rights under workers compensation law, call me for a free consultation: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614. You’ll see why other attorneys and past clients have voted me one of the top personal injury lawyers in Virginia.
When Can the Employer or Insurer Serve Interrogatories?
The insurance carrier may serve interrogatories more than 21 days before hearing if:
- You have filed an original claim for benefits seeking medical coverage, wage loss payments (Temporary Total Disability, Temporary Partial Disability, etc.), permanent partial disability, authorization and payment of medical attention, reimbursement of expenses, or vocational rehabilitation.
- You have filed a change in condition application seeking additional benefits. For example, a claim seeking to add an injured body part as a compensable consequence of the initial injury.
- It filed a pleading to suspend or terminate your benefits.
Can the Employer and Insurer Serve Interrogatories if I’m Receiving Income Replacement Benefits?
Usually, the insurer will not send interrogatories if you receive ongoing wage loss benefits under a Workers Compensation Award Letter. And arguably, they cannot because there is no contested issue in that situation.
However, you should not ignore interrogatories. Ever. Call an attorney if you’re unsure about your obligation to answer interrogatories. You don’t want to risk the suspension of benefits because you failed to respond.
Do I Have to Answer Interrogatories from My Employer or Its Insurer?
Yes. You must give complete answers to interrogatories if you are the claimant (plaintiff) in the workers compensation case.
However, there are exceptions to this general rule. If an interrogatory is objectionable in full, you do not have to answer it. If it is only objectionable in part, you must answer the non-objectionable portion of the interrogatory.
You must state objections with specificity and include the facts, statutes, and judicial precedent supporting your position.
You can read my article – Common Objections to Interrogatories – for more information on this topic.
Are There Special Rules for Answering Interrogatories if Legal Counsel Does Not Represent You?
No.
The civil procedure rules for interrogatory answers are the same for represented and pro se (unrepresented) claimants.
Failing to answer interrogatories or providing inadequate or ineffective answers will harm your claim – even if you don’t hire an attorney.
Do I Have to Answer Interrogatories Under Oath?
Yes.
Your attorney can help you draft answers to interrogatories, but you must answer in writing and under oath.
How Much Time Do I Have to Answer Interrogatories?
Each court has specific rules governing the time to answer discovery. Most state and federal courts and administrative agencies give parties 21 to 30 days to answer interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and requests for admissions.
In Virginia, you must file objections or answers under oath to each interrogatory within 21 days of receiving them.
What Can Workers Comp Interrogatories Ask?
The Rules of the Workers Compensation Commission limit interrogatories to contested issues.
Employers and insurers often use workers compensation interrogatories to ask about:
- How the work incident happened: The insurer wants to know if you can identify a specific event because repetitive motion and cumulative trauma injuries aren’t compensable in some states. This is why your answer must be precise. For example, answering that you were injured while lifting heavy boxes will likely result in a denied claim, while responding that you felt a pop in your back when lifting a box strengthens your claim.
- Body parts injured: The insurer will ask what injuries you claim so that it can investigate whether you have pre-existing conditions or past injuries involving those body parts.
- Benefits sought: The insurance carrier will ask what benefits you seek (Temporary Total, Temporary Partial, Medical, Permanent Partial Disability, Unpaid Bills). If you’re seeking wage loss benefits, the insurer will likely ask what dates you claim benefits (i.e., a closed vs. open period). These dates are the period(s) of benefits sought.
- Lost time from work: The insurance carrier may ask for a list of dates and hours missed from work in the past five years for injuries to the body parts hurt in the work accident. You should give the insurer this information, but do not include time missed from work for unrelated reasons.
- Pre-injury wages: The insurer may ask for all earnings statements, income tax returns, and W-2 forms for the three years leading up to your accident if the pre-injury average weekly wage is disputed.
- Post-injury wages: If you’re claiming wage loss benefits, the insurer will ask about your post-injury work and earnings to determine your entitlement to those benefits and the amount you might be eligible for.
- Other income: The insurer may ask if you’re receiving Virginia Retirement System (VRS) benefits, long term disability, short term disability, Social Security Disability, longshore, or veterans payments. This information can help the parties determine if the employer is entitled to a credit or if an offset applies – making settlement the best option to resolve the case.
- Past employment: The insurer may ask about jobs you held for the five to ten years before the work injury or an occupational illness diagnosis. Usually, this is allowed if marketing or cooperation with vocational rehabilitation is disputed.
- Employment sought after the work injury: The insurer can ask for information about all jobs you’ve applied for after the work-related accident if you’re claiming wage loss. The interrogatory will often ask for copies of all applications, the position applied for, the date of the application, the person you contacted or spoke with, and the result of the contact.
- Past medical treatment: The insurance carrier will ask for a list of health care providers who have treated you for any reason before the work accident. These records may reveal any pre-existing conditions that can serve as the basis for a defense of the claim. Such interrogatories are objectionable unless limited to the five to ten years before your work incident.
- Past claims and litigation: The insurance carrier will ask about prior auto accidents, workers comp claims and settlements, Social Security Disability applications, and tort actions (negligence, intentional torts, personal injury, etc.) resolved by trial or settlement.
- Past injuries: The insurer may ask about past injuries, accidents, or medical conditions. Usually, these interrogatories are overly broad and you should object. The interrogatory must be limited in time, and body parts asked about.
- Health care since the work-related accident: The insurance carrier will ask for a list of all health care providers (hospitals, physicians, surgeons, physical therapists, chiropractors, nurses, etc.) you have seen since the accident. Then it will request records from those providers to evaluate your diagnosis, restrictions, description of the accident, and expected future medical care, and whether you’ve suffered an intervening accident.
- Education: The insurance carrier may ask you about your educational or vocational training background if marketing is in dispute or if the insurer may have to offer vocational rehabilitation services to find light duty work within your restrictions.
- Witnesses: The insurer might ask for a list of all witnesses you will call to testify at the hearing and a summary of their expected testimony. Respond with the witnesses’ contact information and a statement that each person may testify about any fact or circumstance relevant to prove your claim. You should also respond that you will submit a medical designation at the hearing consisting of relevant records from your health care providers. Then list the health care providers that have treated you for the work injuries.
- Documentary Evidence: The insurance carrier may ask you to identify and summarize every document that supports your claim or that you might introduce into evidence at the hearing. Usually, it is easier to produce the documents – but withhold any papers protected by privilege.
- Social Media Accounts: Some insurance carriers ask for login and password information for social media accounts like Facebook. These requests are objectionable. Consult with an attorney before turning over this information. For more information, read my article: How Social Media Can Impact Your Workers Compensation Claim.
- Arrests and Convictions: The insurance carrier may ask if you have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving lying, cheating, or stealing. A simple yes or no answer is all the information you need to give, though you may benefit from providing the conviction date if it was more than fifteen years ago. For more information about credibility and criminal convictions, read my article: Why is the Defendant Asking About My Criminal Record – And How Does it Impact My Personal Injury Case?
- Eligibility for Medicare or Medicaid: Medicare is a secondary payor to workers comp. This means the parties need Medicare’s approval for some liability and workers comp settlements. And Medicaid, though it is not a secondary payor, may be entitled to reimbursement if it paid for care related to your workplace injuries. Insurers may ask about eligibility to determine what health care plans could seek repayment.
- Unemployment insurance benefits: Many insurers serve an interrogatory asking about unemployment benefits to determine if you’re looking for work or if there is a potential termination for justified cause defense. To learn more about this topic, read my article: The Intersection of Workers Comp and Unemployment Benefits.
- Willful misconduct: If the employer believes your injury resulted from your negligence or failure to follow safety rules, it might send an interrogatory asking about your knowledge of the specific rule and if you followed it.
Do I Have a Duty to Investigate to Obtain Information for Interrogatory Answers?
Yes – to an extent.
You are allowed to state “I don’t know” when answering an interrogatory if that’s true.
But courts require parties to litigation to conduct a reasonable investigation to get information that is not immediately available. What forms a proper inquiry is often an area of dispute.
If you lack the knowledge to answer the interrogatory and find the information without hours of searching or great expense, you may have no duty to investigate.
What if I Don’t Understand the Interrogatory?
Having read and helped answer thousands of interrogatories, I know that some questions are ambiguous and allow more than one interpretation.
You or your attorney must interpret the question in good faith, using statutes, case law, custom, and standard grammar usage. I recommend that you state how you interpreted the question, then answer.
What is the Best Method to Respond to an Interrogatory?
Usually, the correct interrogatory response is one of the following:
- Object and state the factual and legal grounds for the objection.
- Answer the interrogatory by providing the requested information if you know it or can determine it from personal knowledge, records, or documents.
- “I Don’t Know” and cannot determine the answer after conducting a reasonable investigation. You should explain the research you undertook.
- State what records the answer can be ascertained from and produce the documents if you have them.
- State that the answer is premature and that you will answer it closer to the hearing (this is appropriate for questions about witnesses and exhibits).
Who Decides if I Have to Answer an Interrogatory if the Insurer Disagrees with My Objection?
The judge assigned to your claim resolves discovery disputes.
If you object to an interrogatory and refuse to answer, the insurer can move the Commission for relief. The judge will resolve the dispute after allowing you to respond to the motion in writing.
Will the Workers Comp Judge Review My Interrogatory Answers?
Sometimes.
Discovery responses should not be submitted to the court unless they are part of a motion.
Even if the insurer submits your interrogatory answers as part of a motion, your answers will not be part of the evidentiary record unless the insurer introduces them at the hearing.
Typically the insurer introduces an interrogatory answer only if your trial testimony varies significantly. The judge will then rule on admissibility if you or your attorney object.
Other Tips for Preparing and Drafting Answers to Interrogatories
Here are more tips for answering interrogatories in your workers comp case:
- Keep your answers as short as possible while being honest. The more details you include, the easier it is for the insurance defense attorney to find discrepancies between your interrogatory responses and testimony at deposition or the trial.
- Restate the question in part so that your answer is read completely and cannot be taken out of context.
Words and phrasing are essential when it comes to answering interrogatories. Don’t be afraid to ask a professional for help.
Get Help Answering Interrogatories in Your Workers Compensation Claim
Most civil claims are won and lost during the discovery process. And interrogatories are a significant part of discovery.
Don’t take the insurer’s set of written interrogatories lightly. Call me for a free consultation and help with responding to the requests for information. Well-drafted interrogatory answers can put more money in your pocket.
Call (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614 today.
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