Raise Your Right Hand ...

No, we’re not in court yet. It's your deposition, but it’s every bit as important.

We’ve answered the interrogatories. (See Ugh. Interrogatories.) Now they want to take ask you questions live, under oath. That's what a deposition is. How does it work?

First of all, relax! Your personal injury lawyer will sit next to you to make sure things proceed as they should. Is there a document you should be looking at, in order to answer a question? Your personal injury lawyer will make sure you have a copy in front of you. Are they being overly repetitive or asking questions they shouldn’t? Your personal injury lawyer will stop them.

A deposition is not a trial, but you still need to tell the truth. It seems like court  because the lawyers for both sides are there and you are sworn in by a court reporter first. Like court, there may be objections and legal discussions between the lawyers--while you’re patiently wondering what the fuss is about--but you’re sitting in a law office, not a court room. There’s no judge up front saying “sustained” or “overruled.” Meanwhile, like court, you’re not supposed to talk until it’s your turn to answer a question under oath.  Also as in court, virtually everything is recorded by the court reporter. 

If, during the deposition, there is a dispute, listen carefully to what your personal injury lawyer says. Most likely, you will still be required to answer the question. If you’re not supposed to answer, your personal injury lawyer will say so straight out. 

A deposition is a bit like a job interview, with your interrogatories serving as your resume. If anything has changed since you sent in your interrogatory answers, or it seems something you said earlier is now a bit wrong, you should ask us to fix it in writing before the deposition starts, or at least ask us to tell the other side about it on the record before the questioning begins. Meanwhile, you should remain as calm as possible, and stay polite.

If all goes well the questioning lawyer will conclude you’re a strong, credible witness, and will likely be a stellar witnes again, at trial. His or her conclusion: this is a case the insurance company needs to settle. Whether we hope to go to trial or not, we like it when they feel that way. 

At Ingerman & Horwitz, we’ll prepare you for deposition, just like we’ll prepare you at every other stage of your case. For more pointers about depositions, see this article on our resources page.