Most of the time when a process server goes out to deliver a civil document there was never a question of safety, but a question of will the subject avoid service.  Recently, a process server was killed after trying to serve divorce papers on a subject.  The subject became angry and killed the process server all because he did not want a divorce from his wife. 

There are questions that we have to ask the client to keep us safe and to have successful service.  Ask your client about the person you are serving.

Is the subject known for having a temper? 

Is the service in a dangerous area?

When will this person be home? 

Can we serve them at work?

Get as many details as possible. If it is a domestic case, try serving the person at work. They are less likely to become violent or give you a problem if there are at work.  Keep your cell phone handy in case you run into a hostile situation.

If you are an attorney or paralegal reading this PLEASE warn your process server if you believe the subject is violent.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 11:49 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.