What Should I Expect In My Car Accident Deposition?
What Should I Expect In My Car Accident Deposition?
If you’ve been injured and your case goes into litigation, your attorney will talk to you about discovery. As discussed in an earlier blog post, the most common types of discovery are interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for answers, and depositions.
A deposition is a process where attorneys for both sides of a case ask a witness a series of questions pertaining to the case, usually trying to get more information about the facts of the case to get a greater understanding of the entire situation. The witness will be testifying under oath, so everything he or she says must be answered truthfully. There will be a stenographer or court reporter in the room to record everything that is being said and the stenographer will then create a transcript of each witness’ deposition for all of the parties. The parties then have a record of what was said at the deposition which can assist in following up on evidentiary leads. There may be new people to speak to, new documents to look for, or developing a new strategy for trial. Depositions are also good preparation for attorneys to know what questions they do or do not want to ask at trial – because they have already heard the answers!
Now that you know what a deposition is and why it’s useful in litigation, what should you expect from a deposition?
You may receive a notice in the form of a subpoena which will notify you that you must appear at the stated date and time at a stated location to be deposed. Alternatively, this may just be arranged by your lawyer. The notice may indicate how long the deposition is expected to last. You may also be asked to bring documents with you, often photographs or other records that are related to your injury. You may also be asked to bring physical objects, for example medical equipment that you needed after an injury.
Before going into a deposition your attorney will talk to you about the facts of your case and prepare you for questions he will ask you, but also what the other attorney may ask you. Your attorney cannot tell you what to say, but will tell you to answer honestly. Your attorney will be sitting with you through the whole deposition, so you will have a familiar face in the room with you.
A deposition almost always starts with easy, basic questions, which ease you into the deposition. You will state your name and address. You will often be asked your occupation and the address of your job. You will probably then be taken back to the day of the injury and asked a series of questions about that day, the circumstances surrounding the accident, what you did after the accident, your medical treatment, work that you missed, and any changes in your quality of life.
So let’s see how this plays out using an example of a basic car accident.
On December 20 at 6 PM you are the driver of a car, driving on a busy highway during rush hour. You are looking at the traffic in front of you, when suddenly your car is jolted and you realize you’ve been hit from behind by another car.
After the initial, basic questions, the attorney may ask you questions to describe the accident and the extent of your injuries:
-Do you recall the evening of December 20?
-Can you tell me what you were doing that day?
-What was the traffic like?
-Did anything out of the ordinary happen?
-Describe the accident for me.
-Right after the accident what did you do?
-What did the Defendant do immediately after the accident?
-If you and the Defendant spoke to each other, what did each of you say?
-Did you call the police?
-What did you say to the police officer?
-Did the police officer write up a report?
-Did you see the officer give anyone a ticket?
-Did you go to the hospital?
-How did you get to the hospital?
-Which hospital did you go to?
-Did they run any tests on you? What kind of tests were they?
-What did they tell you about your injuries?
-Did they tell you to follow up with any doctors?
-What doctors did you see and for what injuries?
-Describe the pain that you were in.
-What could you not do or did you have difficulty doing because of your injuries?
-How long did those limitations last?
-What can you no longer do that you used to do?
-How has this affected your ability to work?
We hope this gives you some insight as to what might go on in a typical car accident deposition!
