What to expect from your Personal Injury Deposition - Part II
Posted Thursday, June 28, 2012 by Chris Thayer
As noted in a previous blog entry on this topic, this public blog is not the appropriate place to include detailed legal advice. Before proceeding with your deposition, you will want to meet with your lawyer and review your specific case in person. However, I can provide a few more basic tips to consider that can help you get through your deposition.
BROAD SCOPE OF QUESTIONS. In what is known as the “discovery” phase of a personal injury lawsuit, the parties are allowed to request and obtain a broad range of information. Some of this information may seem entirely irrelevant to your case. Often it will feel like an unreasonable invasion of your privacy and your personal information. Keep in mind two things: (1) just because this information is “discoverable” does not mean it is admissible evidence that will be allowed in at trial; and (2) some attorneys workign for insurance companies deliberately try to embarass you and make you feel uncomfortable - in an effort to dissuade you from pursuing your case. Don’t give in. At your deposition you can expect a broad range of questions about your background. This may delve into personal issues that you woudl rather not discuss with “strangers”. Discuss these issues with your attorney in advance so you can decide how to deal with them. Be honest and don’t be intimidated.
For many of my personal injury clients I will seek entry of a Protective Order, that will help ensure that their private and personal information is maintained as confidential - and preventing the insurance company from sharing this information outside of the lawsuit.
ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT IS ASKED. It is easy to get caught up in the flow of a deposition and get ahead of yourself. This sounds like obvious advice, but it is harder than you think: be careful to answer the specific question that is asked; not the question you think the insurance defense attorney should ask or is trying to ask. This is not a conversation. It is important to listen carefully to the question before answering. If you don’t understand the question, you have the right to ask for clarification or to have the question restated. There is absolutely nothing wrong with stating “I don’t understand your question, could you rephrase that for me please?” This is an issue that you should discuss with your attorney prior to your deposition.