Complete Guide to Personal Injury Deposition Preparation: What Plaintiffs Need to Know

Our law firm understands why many personal injury plaintiffs feel nervous about having their depositions taken by opposing counsel. Fortunately, our lengthy experience helping clients get ready for these events allows us to prepare them so they can just tell the truth and remain calm.

Shortly before your scheduled deposition, we will meet with you and review all the most crucial medical and other records so you can more readily answer questions. We’ll also remind you that simply telling the truth – without volunteering any extra information – is your main goal.

Your lawyer will be there to guide you as needed

If your Brooklyn personal injury accident attorney believes privileged or improper information is being sought, we’ll make a formal objection. However, we might just ask the deposing lawyer to rephrase the question so it’s clear which relevant facts are being sought.

What follows is general advice for properly answering questions during your deposition. We’ve noted the basic types of facts you must know and share; provided some sample questions; and provided basic tips on how you should dress and interact with others. Always keep in mind that simple “yes” or “no” answers are often all you’ll need to provide.

Ten tips for looking sharp & talking like someone fully prepared the deposition

1. Pre-deposition review of all medical care and treatment records. Your attorney or paralegal will go through your medical records chronologically with you, to be sure you recall all major diagnostic tests run, surgeries performed, and treatments completed. Hopefully, you have been keeping a journal about all medical care received, starting with your very first emergency room visit. This will give us both a chance to make sure that all

The most important medical care has been accurately recorded.

2. Your attorney will also go over other key documents and evidence with you. This may include a filed police report, accident scene evidence — or other useful data that we’ve used while building your case and proving the defendant’s liability. We may also share facts set forth in the “demand letter” we have already sent to the insurance adjustors.
3. We will review all facts related to a defense claim of comparative negligence. Be ready to review any information you should have already shared with us that might imply you were at least partially negligent in causing the accident that led to your injuries. Never try to hide any of this type of information from us. Fortunately, New York law normally makes it possible for a plaintiff to receive funds from a generous settlement or jury verdict – if the plaintiff’s assigned fault is minimal. However, what you can receive may be somewhat reduced.
4. Dress conservatively and act appropriately. Pretend you’re going to an interview for a high-paying job at a corporate office. Also, wear dress shoes, avoid chewing gum, and never carry in a backpack. Women should avoid flashy jewelry – and both men and women should choose simple haircuts. It’s also important to sit still and avoid checking your cell phone for messages. Since most depositions are videotaped, you want to come across as a calm, serene, and fully credible person.
5. Responding to questions about how your recent accident injuries have changed your life. While it’s fine to use appropriate adjectives and briefly discuss the degree of your continuing pain and suffering, be prepared to talk about key specifics. For example, it’s often best to respond by noting the regular activities you were doing just prior to the accident – that you can no longer take part in. Perhaps you could regularly play simple sports with your kids outdoors prior to your accident – but that’s now no longer possible. Also, you may want to briefly describe the types of work duties you could still perform before your recent, serious injuries – that you can no longer do. Make the extent of your daily losses clear – without sharing excessive details or too much private information.
6. Guessing or speculating about a correct answer to a question is never wise. You can always ask for a question to be rephrased so it will be easier to determine which facts are being sought. When you guess at an answer (and get it wrong) – a deceitful defense lawyer might later quote you – implying that you were trying to mislead everyone.
7. If you have been involved in any prior accidents, you’ll need to correctly provide all the basic information being sought. For example, be ready to briefly describe your injuries, carefully noting if you had recently been pain-free for a lengthy period (if that is true). You will also have to tell whether you were the plaintiff or the defendant and what amount of money was awarded to you or the other party. (Of course, if any improper or excessive information is requested, we’ll object to that questioning on your behalf.)
8. Be sure to wait for the lawyer’s entire question to be asked. If it is too complex, you can ask if it can be broken down into several separate questions.
9. Should you begin to feel angry about the way you are being questioned, remember that you hold some power over the pace of the deposition. Consider doing some deep breathing for a moment or two – and then give your best, most accurate answer. Whenever possible, try to show little emotion in response to questions. It’s entirely possible that the lawyer is trying to see how easy it is to diminish your composure or shake your self-confidence. Reach for a glass of water – or perhaps, quietly ask how long until the next scheduled break.
10. Remember what the best, simplest bit of advice may be. Try to always silently count to five before answering any question. That should give you plenty of time to review what was asked and to compose a truthful, yet brief answer.

Sample questions that may require very careful reflection before responding

1. Please describe all that you did on the day of the accident, right up until it took place. Be careful answering this type of question since it’s worded very broadly to perhaps – find out personal habits or behaviors of yours that might have increased the chances of an accident occurring. Try using short phrases to describe what you did in terms of getting up and going to work – or helping all your children get dressed for school before you left the house with them.
2. What types of daily medication do you take? What dosage is currently being prescribed for you? While you must answer honestly, you should never elaborate on your answer.
3. Don’t let the lawyer trick you into commenting on why someone else did something. You can simply be polite and respond, “I have no idea why that decision or choice was made.”
4. How soon has your doctor indicated that you might be able to return to work? Another version of this type of question might be: How soon has your physician said you can start caring for all your children’s needs at home again? If honest and accurate, just tell the truth. And if such decisions haven’t been made yet – note that you still have some treatments or rehab sessions left and won’t know for a while longer. Do not let the lawyer try to get you to speak for any doctor – as they might later imply you knowingly lied.
5. An unusually awkward or misleading question may cause your attorney to simply tell you not to even try to answer. Please heed this advice and sit quietly. It’s possible that the defense attorney may soon try to rephrase it. If your lawyer says you can now go ahead and try to answer the question – give as short and truthful an answer as possible.

A few added, potential problems to watch out for during a deposition

• A question being asked a second or third time. If you believe this has happened, just note that you believe you already provided the correct answer to that same question.
• Highly personal questions. The defense attorney can ask questions that may help produce evidence relevant to the facts of your case. Your personal attorney can always tell you if you must briefly discuss something like who was living with you at the time of the accident – if that’s permitted under New York law.
• Questions put to you about all past criminal arrests or convictions. As always, give your lawyer time to voice an objection to this inquiry. Your attorney can request that the defense counsel state what relevance the question has to this personal injury case. In general, only past criminal convictions can be brought up – to imply you may not be a fully trustworthy plaintiff. Again, such information may not always be admissible.
• Inquiries about photos or written posts you have recently made on the internet. It’s never wise to post anything online that might be vaguely tied to a pending, personal injury lawsuit. If you post a photo of yourself cutting wood outdoors on your property – yet have alleged serious back injuries in your current lawsuit, you may have dealt yourself a fatal blow. Do not post any new information after you secure the help of an attorney.

Conclusions

As indicated above, we’ll make every effort to help you do well during your deposition. The tips we’ve provided to help you create strong deposition testimony hold true whether you were hurt

on the job, in a vehicle collision, due to a slip and fall incident — or after some other type of unexpected harmful event that a defendant caused by his negligence.

Keep in mind that if your deposition testimony went well, that may soon cause the insurance adjustors to become more willing to settle your case. When you’ve been seriously injured, the last thing the defendant’s attorney wants is to have a sympathetic jury meet you — a credible, pleasant plaintiff who speaks clearly and has innocently suffered major, life-altering injuries.

If you have suffered serious injuries after an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you need to contact our Brooklyn personal injury accident law firm. We will carefully investigate all the facts of your case, review all your medical records, and then fight hard to win the maximum compensation available to you. We want every client to fully recover for all lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other losses.