I was involved in a fender bender several years ago and am a defendant. My insurance company lawyer explained to me that the trial is done in two parts. What does that mean?
I believe your insurance company lawyer was trying to explain to you the concept of a bifurcated trial. Liability issues are tried separately from damages issues in a bifurcated trial. Uniform Court Rule 202.42.
That means there are actually two separate trials. One trial exclusively focuses on responsibility for the accident. In your case, the jury will only hear evidence of how the accident occurred. The judge will also instruct the jury about the rules of the road applicable at the time of the accident. The trial judge will give the jury questions (or interrogatories) to answer regarding the responsibility for the accident. It will be the responsibility of the jury to determine if the defendant, or plaintiff, or both are responsible for the accident.
The most important point of a bifurcated trial is that the jury will not hear any evidence of the plaintiff’s damages. This means that if the plaintiff had sustained particularly devastating injuries in an accident, the jury will not have that information. Thus, sympathy will not sway the jury to make an award for the plaintiff because the jury never heard about devastating injuries.
In most bifurcated trials, the same jury that heard evidence regarding accident responsibility, will then immediately hear a separate trial for damages (if the jury found the defendant responsible for the accident). However sometimes, a different jury weeks or even months later may determine the issue of an award for damages.
Rules for First and Second Departments
In New York, the Second Judicial Department, which comprises Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens, uses bifurcated trials. The First Judicial Department, which comprises Manhattan and the Bronx uses unitary trials.
During a unitary trial, the jury hears about the accident as well as the plaintiff’s injuries. At the conclusion of a unitary trial, the Judge asks the jury a series of written questions. The first questions focus on responsibility for the accident. The trial Judge asks the jury make an award for the plaintiff, if it found that the defendant was responsible for the accident.
By James Santner, Esq.
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