How To Prepare For A Deposition In A Personal Injury Case

A deposition normally takes place in an attorney’s offices. It gets held before the disputing parties need to meet in a courtroom setting. The lawyers for both sides pose questions to the person that is being deposed.

Types of inquiries posed to a plaintiff that is being deposed

Some of the questions represent an effort on the lawyer’s part to review certain pieces of general information. For instance, the plaintiff must give his or her name and address. That same individual should expect to answer family-related questions, in addition to inquiries about his or her education and occupation.

Once that general information has been reviewed, the Personal Injury Lawyer in Hamilton asking the questions seeks information on the plaintiff’s physical condition, before the date of the accident. The answers provided at this stage of the deposition will get compared to those given in response to queries about the plaintiff’s health after the accident.

The next sets of inquiries deal with the incident that gave rise to the ongoing personal injury case. At this stage of the deposition, plaintiffs need to explain how a given accident happened, along with details on their own reaction to that unfortunate event.

After the details of the accident have been shared, the plaintiff should expect to get questioned on his or her injuries. How bad was each injury? Where was it treated? Was there any follow-up care? Were you given a treatment plan to follow?

The last set of questions should deal with the plaintiff’s life at that specific time, after having been treated for the mentioned injuries. Had the plaintiff been forced to change any plans? Had any money been spent on special equipment or on changes in the home?

For which sets of inquiries do plaintiffs need the largest amount of preparation?

A plaintiff that has asked to be reimbursed for a loss of wages should prepare for an effort on the defense lawyer’s part to learn as much as possible about the plaintiff’s work history. How many other jobs were held, before the one that the plaintiff held at the time of the accident?

All plaintiffs should expect to answer multiple questions about the injury-causing accident. What was the plaintiff’s reason for being at the site of that particular incident? What caused the same incident? What actions did you take after you got injured?

It helps to prepare answers for any lawyer that might pose such queries. Discover what events can be recalled, and which cannot be remembered clearly. Plaintiffs’ memories of a given accident are expected to have a few gaps, but each deposed plaintiff should admit to the existence of such a gap.

Relax when giving the final answers. Share each of your problems.