In a jury trial in New York, jurors answer questions to determine whether or not the person bringing the lawsuit has proven their case. The questions they are required to answer are known as “jury interrogatories.”

In a medical malpractice case for example, one of the questions will be:
“Did the defendant depart from good and accepted medical practice?”

If the answer is “yes,” then they will proceed to the next question which is:
“Was the departure a substantial factor in causing injury?"

If the answer is “yes,” then they will go on to answer questions about compensation. There are some instances where a jury will be required to answer multiple factual questions and each one of the factual issues in a case may ask whether there were departures from good care, and whether those departures were substantial factors in causing injury.