Inside District Court
slips, either taking your client off of work, or limiting your client’s duties. Tese should be included in the § 10-104 packet. Further, any comments made by your client to the medical provider regarding work may be used to support the lost wage claim. Although many plaintiffs’ attorneys also include lost wage statements from their clients’ employers in their § 10-104 packet, these are not medical records, and are clearly not admissible under § 10-104. Your client should be prepared to state the dates she missed from work, the number of hours missed, and her hourly rate. You should not, however, rely on the § 10-104 packet to prove your entire lost wage claim. Your client will have to provide testimony and, if the lost wage claim is substantial, you should subpoena a representative from your client’s employer to testify to: • Your client’s duties, •
Te availability of light duty,
• Whether she was permitted to work with respect to her injuries,
• Te time missed, and • Te rate of pay. Te only lost wage documents permitted under § 10-104 are statements by a medical provider.
Serving the § 10-104 Packet Once you have filed your Complaint and § 10-104 notice,
and receive your summons back from the court, it is time to perfect service on the defendant. As discussed above, the § 10-104 packet should be served along with the Complaint and Summons, otherwise, you run the risk of not having served it on all other parties at least 60 days before trial. If, however, you find yourself in a position where you have served the § 10-104 packet, but you are within 60 days of trial, you have two options. First, many defense attorneys will stipulate to the admissibility of the § 10-104 packet, but you must get this stipulation before trial. Second, you can file a motion to postpone the trial. You should not appear at trial with an improperly served or untimely § 10-104 packet. Section 10-104 does not provide the court with discretion to admit an untimely filed or served § 10-104 packet. As a practitioner’s note, I have seen judges give the defense attorney the option of either stipulating to the admissibility of the § 10-104 packet, or receiving a new trial date, but it is not a position that any plaintiff or plaintiff ’s attorney wishes to be in. In order to properly document the service of the § 10-
104 packet, your process server, upon perfecting service, should include the § 10-104 packet as an item served in
Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeons
Raymond D. Drapkin, M.D. William J. Launder, M.D. Michael A. Franchetti, M.D. Mark A. Cohen, M.D. Kevin E. McGovern, M.D. Susan J. Liu, M.D. Arthur Kurlanzik, M.D. Neurological Services
With over 34 years of experience we take pride in offering our patients the quality care they deserve.
Industrial Injuries Personal Injury Independent Medical Evaluations Most Appointments within 24 Hours Spanish & Korean Interpreting On Site X-ray Facilities Physical Therapy On Site Cervical & Lumbar Spine Injuries Disc Injuries Joint Replacements Arthritis Arthroscopy
Conveniently Located
Ellicott City 3570 St. John’s Lane (410)461-9500 Laurel 545 Main Street (301)776-2000
Owings Mills Physicians Pavilion 10085 Red Run Boulevard Suite 303 (410)363-0777 Frederick 75 Thomas Johnson Drive Suite N (301)663-0009
34 Trial Reporter / Summer 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68